


Run from Me

by Lucifers_Trash_Stash



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blood, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Language, NSFW, Sexist Language, Slow Burn, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-05-08 15:57:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14697501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifers_Trash_Stash/pseuds/Lucifers_Trash_Stash
Summary: There aren't many solutions to escape becoming a member of The Mad Titan Thanos' harem. All you can try to do is to run and pray he doesn't find you.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I never really expected being invested in Thanos as a character or as anyone I'd thirst over, but after being inspired by my lovely friend Vizhion's fic "Pride" and watching Infinity War, I wanted to write this chaptered fic to explore his character a bit more. I hope you'll all enjoy this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it <3

**Run from me, darlin'**  
**Run, my good wife**  
**Run from me, darlin'**  
**You better run for your life...**

**-Timber Timbre**

**~~~**

The first thing I remembered hearing when I became fully conscious was the loud siren wails of a hull breach warning. The next thing I heard were the screams.

My eyes squinted open, suddenly flush with flashing red lights. My head ached, and it felt like I’d had the worst hangover in the entire galaxy. With a grunt, I rolled off of my stomach and onto my back, staring up at the ceiling as the noises and lights continued to alert the passengers of danger. However, my mind was disconnected from the instinct to get up and run, and I felt like I was floating in space. I didn’t want to get up; I wanted to lie here and wait until it was all over, whatever it was.

After a few moments, my brain started to pound harder, forcing me to wince at the blooming pain at the back of my skull. My hand slowly reached up and brushed the base of my neck and held my fingers up to my face.

Blood. I must have hit my head.

That was all the motivation I needed to roll over and push myself up on wobbly knees. My muscles all felt sore and abused, but I forced myself to stand anyway. The room looked like living quarters, maybe mine, with a my bag spilled out onto the floor next to a cot. I saw the blaster peeking just out of the bag, and I scooped it up quickly and pushed the other items back in. Whatever was happening out there, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.

I slung the bag over my shoulder and made my way to the door. I opened the latch and slowly peeked my head through to check my surroundings. My breath caught in my throat, and my blood ran cold.

Bodies. Eyes open and staring up at nothing. Men, women, and children, all dead. These people had tried to escape, and some monster had left them all to die.

Before I could assess the situation further, run for the transport pods, anything that could get me out of here, my finger thumbed the safety off of my blaster and I stepped over the bodies towards the sound of the shrill screaming in my ears. It was a man’s voice, and no words were coming out, just a long, inhuman scream. I didn’t know what exactly I could do, but I wanted to save someone on this ship. No one deserved whatever had happened to these people.

As silently as I could, I passed through the hallway, sidestepping the bodies that slumped over on the floor. In any other situation, my limbs would be trembling, and yet I trekked on. Perhaps it was the head wound talking, but I was experiencing a sense of heroism I’d never felt before. I’ve always been running away from danger, sneaking away in the chaos of battle. I mean, I’ve always known my own strength, and I don’t really pick battles where I know I might lose. As a human I’ll always have the disadvantage. No powers, no nothing. Just a mediocre shot. Thankfully, that’s all I’ve ever needed, until maybe now that is.

After wandering the claustrophobic corridors for a while, the walls opened up in the form of a broken door, circuits flashing and hissing with failure. I held my body against the wall and shut my eyes, almost afraid to peek inside and see exactly who or what was causing the man to scream in such sheer unearthly pain. I held the blaster tighter, lifting it up against me in a defensive position. Breathe in. Breathe out. With one last big gulp of air I slowly shifted my weight over to the door and inched my face just enough so my eye could catch a sliver of what was held inside.

I saw the man suspended in the air first. His limbs were stretched out, almost as if on a medieval rack. His face was twisted and contorted in such anguish, his hoarse voice continuing to carry out of his slack jawed mouth. Something glinted beside him, and for a moment I couldn’t decide what it was. Suddenly, things were beginning to click as I spotted them; long, thin, sharp, glass-like spears pressing into the man’s body. Whatever it was, the man was being stabbed from every angle on every part of his body.

And then my eyes landed on the tall figure before the man. He wore a dark black robe with gold and silver trim winding in a geometric design, his pale blueish purple hands clasped behind his back with black rings on each gnarled and twisted finger. His head was tilted to the side, admiring his handiwork. I couldn’t see the rest of his head past his thin silver-white hair, but if it was anything like his fingers then I wasn’t exactly jumping at the chance to find out.

“Did you really and truly believe you could escape us forever?” the tall figure asked, his voice sending chills up my spine. They were cold, collected- and the most frightful of all- tinged with amusement as he watched his prey squirm and cry. “My father doesn’t appreciate scoundrels that run away from their deals. You ran, and now you must pay the price.”

I slowly slid back into place, trying to gulp down the lump in my throat. An entire passenger ship slaughtered, all for the sake of killing one man that went back on a deal. This creep was off his fucking rocker.

A flash of anger started to bubble up in my throat. Why did this jackass have to board the same ship as me and get everyone else killed? Why did this gigantic fucking pencilneck not wait to corner the jackass on his own instead of slaughtering everyone in the vicinity? And why on earth did I feel so compelled to save the jackass from his fate anyways? I have no idea what he did, he could have been a murderer like the tall dude. However, no matter what he did, he didn’t deserve a fate like this.

I didn’t even have a chance to decide if I was going to act on my gut and save this guy. My blaster, almost as if an invisible force, yanked out of my hand and flew towards the end of the hall at the speed of light and destroyed on impact. My hands began to tremble, and suddenly my foot slid out from under me.

I let out a shriek as I was sent flying through the air by my right foot, my surroundings flashing so quickly by me that I couldn’t even figure out what was happening. My hands flung out instinctively in front of me, hoping to break my fall on whatever I landed on.

Suddenly I hit the floor with a thud, my throat croaking as the wind knocked out of me. I lay there for a moment, trying to lift myself up and run for my life, but with the lack of air I was panicking. I was all out of options.

The man’s body fell in front of me with a thud, his eyes glazed over and his mouth forever open in a silent scream for no one to hear. If I’d been able to, I’d probably have cried out in fear. My mind was running through hundreds of thoughts, the most prevalent being, ‘I’m going to die here.’

Suddenly, I felt a yank on my hair as I was hoisted to my feet. My eyes clenched at the surge of pain coursing through my skull, my hands immediately clasping on the knotted fingers of my tormentor. I was almost afraid to open my eyes.

“What do we have here, a Xandarian perhaps?” the voice hissed out. “And a woman no less. I’m surprised you’re still alive from that. You’re much more durable than the others were.”

I finally let my eyes flutter open. Just inches from my face was his, a scowl pulling at his lips, only adding to the wrinkles that creased his face. His brow was pronounced, and his eyes were a pale green, staring into mine coldly. He didn’t have a nose either, which added a foreignness and unease to his appearance.

Out of nowhere, I felt the words falling out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Well first of all, asshole, that was pretty sexist of you,” I hissed, leaving the creature to cock his brow at me. “Second of all, I wasn’t even going to do shit! Don’t go assuming I was going to come in here guns blazing-”

The creature snorted and my body flung itself against the wall on the opposite side of the room. I cried out as I fell back to the floor, and he chuckled. “Don’t be sore that I was aware of your presence before you could get the drop on me,” he said before flicking his wrist and sliding me back over to his feet. He leaned forward, his mouth twisting into a gruesome smile. “Such a shame you didn’t account for your opponent to possess telekinetic abilities, hmm?”

With a lack of a better comeback, I replied, “Oh, get over yourself, fuckface.”

That earned me another lap around the room, my body slamming into every surface I came into contact with. God, if I somehow got out of this alive, I would be sore in the morning.

I crashed back down on the floor below me, aching and throbbing in pain from every part of my body. Somehow, my bag was still strapped to me by whatever ounce of luck that took. I felt blood drip off of my brow, though I couldn’t muster enough strength to lift my hand up to check the damage. Before I could roll over to protect myself, his foot pressed down onto my chest. He smirked as I cried out in pain, putting just enough pressure to cause discomfort but not enough to cause true damage.

Leaning forward slightly, he spoke again, “I find it’s always the cocky ones who are unable to back up their claims. I’m unsurprised that you are no different.” He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something more, but his mouth just hung there slightly open. His brow furrowed slightly, his eyes narrowing. I winced as his hand snapped near my face, but the blow didn’t come. Instead, his fingers swiped at my forehead.

Confused, I opened my eyes again. My heart dropped as I saw what had intrigued him so much. Rubbing his fingers together, my blood stained the tips of his fingers. Slowly, his gaze looked back upon me. After a moment of uneasy anticipation, he spoke again, “How interesting. Red blood. We aren’t Xandarian, are we?”

When I didn’t answer him, he continued. “Ah, clamming up as soon as you’ve been found out. How fitting. Well, it is your lucky day, little Terran, my father has been desiring one of you for his harem for many years. You’ll be a lovely addition to his collection.”

My blood froze in my veins. Being a human woman in the vast stretch of universe, this was always my greatest fear: not dying before someone discovered my origins. I’d heard of many horror stories of humans being sold on intergalactic black markets for whatever cruel fate their masters had in store for them, but a harem? I’d rather be dead.

Against my better judgement, the words that came out of my mouth were another jab at my captor. “You’re telling me you bring your father bedmates? I think Freud would love to pick your brain for a while.”

“How unfortunate the first Terran I come across is a foul mouthed little whore,” he hissed. “No matter, my father will enjoy teaching you to do as you’re told. He surely won’t mind breaking you in.”

“Try me, fucker,” I growled, spitting right into his face. I gritted my teeth as I watched his eyes fill with silent rage. I just only hoped I could egg him on enough to kill me instead of slapping a bow on me and giving me to the orchestrator of my soon-to-be personal hell.

Instead, he raised himself back up to his feet and used the back of his hand to brush back the spit. “Oh you’re not getting out of this so easily, Terran. Consider yourself blessed, you’ll be serving the greatest being in the galaxy and living out your life comfortably. So long as you fall in line,” he added through gritted teeth.

He then began walking away, his hands behind his back as he moved out of the room. My body, through his mind, lifted again into the air, though this time it was far more gentle. My feet brushed against the body of the man on the floor as I floated past, and I felt a tinge of fear. My arms and legs were seemingly glued to my sides, unable to kick or try to escape the invisible binds.

I continued to try my best to squirm or do anything as my body slowly followed my captor down the hallway. I began to feel sick again passing the corpses of the departed. In some sick way I’d prefer myself dead over everything else, just to escape the torture that awaited ahead.

Out of frustration, I screamed incoherently at the creature’s back, slinging every curse and obscenity I could muster. I would have let myself go hoarse too, if not for my lips slamming shut. All I could do was muffle my disdain now. Even with all the space around me, I felt confined, as if shoved in a high school locker and locked inside. Except I could see everything, and there was nothing in my surroundings that would stop this from happening.

There was nothing I could possibly do.

That thought rattled around in my brain as I was lifted up into his spacecraft, the inside about as empty and cold as the creature’s eyes. He opted to ignore me as he turned to his console, both of his arms sliding into place as he prepared to dock out. All at once, images flashed before my eyes, but I was hardly conscious enough to keep track of them at once. Mechanical arms prodded my wounds at one point, the next he was leaning down and fixing his gaze upon me as his grip checked for broken bones. Another moment the creature was back at the console, the screen displaying docking visuals.

Suddenly, the creature was back in front of me, jerking my chin up to look at him. “You can choose to arrive to my father with dignity, or held by a short leash like some sort of beast. Which do you prefer?” he asked.

My mouth suddenly opened, allowing me to speak. “I want to walk, please!” I cried out, wanting desperately to be back in control of my body. Instantly, my legs fell out from under me, hitting the metal grate with a thud. I wrapped my arms around myself instinctively, ignoring the creature looming over me. I didn’t care that this power he had over me pleased him, I wanted to feel comfort again any way I could.

“You will address me as Ebony Maw. None of this “fuckface,” you’re ever so fond of,” he said. The curse sounded so odd between his overly eloquent language. “How should I address you to my father?”

I stayed silent. I didn’t care if his father wouldn’t know my name, the last thing I wanted was my name on any of my captors’ lips.

After a moment Maw shrugged, turning to head out of the ship. “No matter, you’ll simply be just another one of his whores. He won’t care either way. Now come, don’t keep me waiting or I’ll have to carry you again,” he said over his shoulder.

I quickly scrambled to my feet, not wanting to be told twice. There was a part of me that hated myself for giving in, but I needed to play nice until I could figure out how to escape this place. I needed to remain calm before making any big moves.

The interior of this new ship was just as dark and unwelcoming as Maw’s ship. Some aliens milled around outside, their eyes fixating on me as I stepped out of the ship.

“Alert Father of my arrival, and tell him I brought him a gift,” Maw told one of the aliens nonchalantly, and they nodded in understanding. Maw’s long legs carried him rather quickly, and I did my best to keep up with him as he slinked in and around the ship.

Other aliens made way for the two of us as we passed, all of them staring curiously at me. I felt like some trophy on display, like a lamb to the slaughter. It only made me fear for what creature I was being gifted to, and what he wanted me to do.

I slammed into Maw’s back with a grunt, not realizing he’d stopped. He turned around and looked down at me with a scowl. My stomach tightened, fearing the arrival at our destination.

“Be on your best behavior if you do not wish to be immediately corrected for your slights against my father. He does not take kindly to insubordination,” Maw said. I nodded, and he jerked his head back and urged me to follow behind.

The room was large, empty only for large slabs of stone arranged on a pedestal. Small pools of water formed in different areas on the floor, the ceiling letting in a small amount of light, illuminating the cold, cave-like room. I couldn’t imagine this was a nice place to stay.

Maw held his hand out, instructing me to wait there. I rolled my eyes but obeyed, letting Maw walk towards the structure in the center of the room. This need for theatrics was making me uneasy. I just wanted to rip the bandaid off and get it all over and done with.

Maw walked around the structure, disappearing behind it. His voice echoed over the walls as he spoke, “Father, I have completed my mission. He is no more.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, Maw. I knew you wouldn’t fail me,” a deep voice replied back. It suddenly occurred to me that the structure was a large throne, and that whoever his father was, he was sitting on it. “I was told you also found something else of interest?”

“A gift, father,” Maw said. My legs began to feel wobbly at the thought. “Besides that traitor, something else was hiding aboard that passenger ship. A Terran woman. I brought her to you.”

Silence hung in the air for an uncomfortably long while. My teeth were chattering in my mouth at this point, my brain racing in every direction possible. I simultaneously wanted to run for my life and stay here where I would be safe for the time being all at the same time.

And then the deep voice spoke again, “Bring her to me then.”

I began to feel a pull on my brain, like a warning that if I didn’t move now I would be dragged there. I moved one foot in front of the other, slowly testing that my legs wouldn’t fall out from underneath me. The short stretch to the throne felt like an eternity at this speed, but any faster and I wasn’t sure how well I would fare.

Closer and closer I came, the throne now so close that I could reach out and touch it. But I kept my gaze on the ground, I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of acknowledging either of them. My eyes stayed on Maw’s feet, my body now in clear view of the front of the throne and whoever sat there. I finally arrived by Maw’s side, my head down and my hands hanging limply from my sides.

“Don’t be rude,” Maw hissed, causing my body to jolt. “Look up, and rejoice in the knowledge of being in the presence of your new master, The Great Titan, Thanos.”

In an instant, the chattering in my teeth stopped, and my limbs stopped shaking. I froze in place. Did… did he say Thanos? As in… the Mad Titan Thanos? The same Thanos that everyone in the galaxy knows is the same man that slaughters half of every planet he comes across?

I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to think that I misheard Maw say what the worst case scenario would be. That I was just projecting my fears. But there was only one way to know for sure.

Slowly, I lifted my head inch by inch, revealing more of my face and of the man sitting before me. Just from the size of his golden armored boots, I could tell the figure was massive. His torso was wide, wearing a dark blue breastplate adorned with golden trim that looked almost as menacing as the size of his purple fists. One of his hands could probably wrap around my head if he really wanted to.

My eyes finally landed on his face, framed by the armored helmet he wore, the gold trim accentuating his features. His eyes bored into mine, studying me as I somehow held his gaze. I was almost too afraid of what would happen if I let him out of my sight, what Thanos would do to me, what Maw _said_ Thanos would do to me.

“Tell me,” Thanos began with a low drawl. “What do they call you, little human?”

My mind didn’t register his words. Instead, almost as if someone had hit the off switch, my brain began to blur the world around me. My legs gave out from under me, and just as I was about to register my head hitting the craggy ground beneath me, my surroundings went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a warning, this chapter contains torture and choking (of the non-kinky variety) in the first half.

The black soon quickly faded into a pure white, and my eyes squinted to adjust to the brightness. I groaned, pressing the palms of my hands to my eyes. I felt like such shit, like I’d been tossed around in the back of a truck for a few hours. 

“Finally awake are we?” a sinister voice asked, snapping me back to reality. 

My eyes shot open and I quickly uncovered my eyes. I immediately recognized the figure hunching down over a screen with his back to me, pressing buttons and swiping through panels. Ebony Maw tilted his head slightly to catch my gaze, then went back to typing on the screen. 

Memories came flooding back to me. My stomach clenched at the abuse Maw had me endure under his power throughout the day, slamming me against walls, murdering an entire passenger ship full of innocent people, and wrapping me up in a bow for his father… Thanos. I shuddered at the thought of his menacing stare, at what he would do to me… 

“I fainted, didn’t I?” I asked. “I can’t remember anything past…” I let my words trail off purposefully.

“You almost cracked your skull against the ground. How fortunate I was able to stop you before you did so,” Maw continued. “You’re not so easily getting out of this.”

“My hero,” I retorted. 

“And here I thought you weren’t going to bless us with any more of your snide little quips. It’s a miracle,” he responded.

I snorted, lifting myself up slightly. “So you do have a hidden sense of humor,” I said. A twinge of pain brought my attention to a device attached to my arm. I noticed there were a few plugged into me, much like medical sensors I’d seen in hospitals. Irritated, I grabbed one and yanked, hissing from the stickiness of the device pulling at my skin.

Maw’s screen flickered and he turned his head sharply in my direction. “Stop that.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” I said, peeling the next one off. “Technically you pawned me off as a gift, and it’s rude to play with someone else’s toys without permission.” I didn’t realize what I was saying until I said it, and felt a uneasy twinge in my stomach. There was truth in it. I was a toy for Thanos now.

Instead of getting angry, Maw only smirked. “What makes you think that being Thanos’ whore gives you more power than I?” he asked. When my only response was to stare back into his cold icy green eyes, he continued, “I thought so. Do not worry, Terran. Thanos will see to it that your defiant nature is remedied into something much more… pliable.”

The way he talked to me like I was meat disgusted me. Nothing would make me happier than to rip off a limb for every time he referred to me as a whore. If he thought I wouldn’t be on the watch for him to slip up one of these days, to lower his guard enough to give me the opportunity to end him where he stood, then he’d be a fool. 

I was too busy glaring into space, imagining my hands personally wringing around his thin neck, before a bowl was placed neatly by my side. I stared at the contents of the bowl blankly for a moment. The grey sludge reminded me of oatmeal. I grunted as I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the table, holding my hands flat on the surface to either side of my hips. “What’s this?” I asked.

“Eat it,” Maw replied, his back to me. He had already become disinterested in me and focused once more on the screen. “Beside the stress I put upon your body before I realized your true origins, your stomach was also empty. Those two things in combination were what caused your fainting spell.”

It was then I finally became aware of the pangs in my stomach, urging me to eat the unappetizing sludge before me. With a sigh, I picked up the bowl and grabbed the spoon, forcing a bite down. It took everything in my power not to gag. Not only did the sludge resemble oatmeal, the consistency was that of oatmeal that had been sitting out for far too long. I wanted to refuse the slimy, lumpy food, but I didn’t know when the next meal would be and I probably couldn’t afford to be picky. So, putting the thought of how disgusting it was out of my mind, I went about shovelling as much as I could into my mouth.

The two of us sat in silence for the moment, and I took in my surroundings. The room resembled a large laboratory space- sterile and about as dark and foreboding as Thanos’ throne room had been- and I wondered what Maw spent his time in here doing. The thought caused me to blanche, so I pushed it out of my mind as I pushed another spoonful into my mouth. 

After I forced down the last bite, I set the bowl aside. My hands instinctively reached towards my side, but I only felt the material of my pants. My heart quickly raced as I looked for the strap of my bag, not finding it attached to my person. I looked down, realizing that it indeed had disappeared. That couldn’t be; it was still strapped to me when Maw was attacking me and on my body when he took me away. Where had it gone between now and then?

“What did you do with my things?” I hissed at Maw’s back, trying my best to stay calm.

“They are safely with Thanos,” Maw replied, my heart sinking further. “I suggested to him that while you were incapacitated he could get to know you through your belongings-”

“You had no right to do that!” I shouted at him, my fingernails scraping against the table as I clenched my fists. 

“And you seem to forget that you haven’t a single shred of agency as of today. You belong to Thanos, your master, and you do nothing without his permission. Do you understand?” Maw responded sharply, turning back around to face me. 

“All I understand is that you’re a little daddy’s boy with how much you can’t help but talk about how great he is and how I need to service him like some discount dollar bin hooker,” I spat, opting to go straight to the insults. I didn’t care about the consequences at this point, I was too upset to think reasonably. 

Maw, surprisingly, elected to ignore me and turn back to his work. For whatever reason I couldn’t let it go at that. I needed to make him react, get mad, feel something from my words. My temper was never my best feature, but now wasn’t the time to think about my vices. I needed to make him hurt in the only way I could at the moment. 

“You know, I wondered how weird it was that you didn’t have a nose the first time I saw your ugly mug, but I think I know what happened to it,” I began. “You probably lost it shoving your nose so far up Thanos’ ass that it got lost there, right?”

Maw’s shoulders physically tensed, and his fingers stopped tapping away on the console. I grinned, I’d hit a sore spot. The knife was there, now all I needed was one more  _ twist _ …

“Ohhhhhh, I’m sorry for bringing up bad memories, Maw. No worries, at least you won’t have to smell all the bullshit Thanos feeds to you on a regular-”

Suddenly my mouth shut, cutting off my insults. I went to push myself off of the table, but found I was frozen in place, just like he’d done to me before. But this time I knew that he’d do this, and instead of panicking I stared daggers into the back of his head. The breath through my nose sounded ragged, which was my only means of voicing my displeasure.

Maw stood up straight, turning around with his hands behind his back. A calculated stare pierced through me, as if my words hadn’t bothered him a bit. And yet- as I knew from my encounters with unfriendly beings before this- cold silence was much more intimidating than any yelling, screaming, or bulging muscles and veins. 

I held my stare as best as I could as he calmly walked over to me, each step of his heel making a soft clank on the metallic floor below. My heart thudded faster, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me afraid. 

He stopped just inches from me, his dark cloak brushing against my knees. Instead of making any moves, Maw only stood there, making a calculated effort as to what he should do with me. He had all the time in the world to decide. 

Maw let out a long sigh, and spoke, “You said earlier that it’s rude to play with toys that aren’t mine to play with. However,” he then slowly unclasped his hands, reaching one of them out and stroking my cheek. “If the owner looks at their toys and sees that nothing has been disturbed, then there’s no harm in playing with them without the owner’s knowledge, is there?” he asked, as if waiting on an answer that was impossible for me to give. I wanted to recoil back when he brushed stray curls out of the way, fearing what his threat implied. What would he do to me now, when no one is watching him?

His fingers then clamped around my nose, instantly cutting off my air supply. My eyes widened, and my head immediately started to swim. A few seconds later and I felt my body involuntarily shudder, trying desperately to make any sort of move to stop this.

Maw sneered at me, pleased with my reactions. My life was in his hands. He watched my eyes grow more frantic as I tried desperately to do something, anything. But I couldn’t, all I could do was watch his face in horror.

“My father might have been eyeing a Terran as a bedmate for a long time now, but don’t forget that you are replaceable. That all I have to do is keep an eye out for any other Terran quim far more obedient than you, and I can suggest to Father that if it isn’t working out with you that you can be taken care of. Remember that when you’re sitting in a warm room, having three meals a day, and living in comfort in exchange for offering your cunt to Thanos. That you have it far better than it could be,” Maw said icily, stroking my chin with a long spindly finger from his other hand. 

Just as I felt my vision restricting and my head lolling back, my nose was released along with the rest of my body. The loud roar of my inhale filled my ears as I fell back on the table, coughing and sputtering. I couldn’t control my breathing as I tried to suck in as much oxygen as I could. Maw simply turned and left me lying on the table, heading back to his console. He clicked a button and spoke, “Have a guard bring Thanos’ newest whore to her quarters until he calls upon her.”

My breathing was starting to even out now, and I sat back up again, avoiding Maw’s gaze. I barely noticed when the doors across the room opened to reveal an armoured guard standing at attention. After a brief moment, Maw told me, “Get going. Your master will call on you when he wishes to be serviced.”

I pushed myself off the table, eager to get out of the room. I didn’t want to spend one more minute with this psychopath. 

When I reached the guard, he turned and walked down the hall, under the assumption that I would follow him. I didn’t bother looking back at Ebony Maw before the doors shut behind me. If anything, I hoped I would never have to see him again. I knew now that Maw was far more sadistic than I had originally believed, and I should probably keep my head down the next time he interacts with me. If I can even help it.

* * *

The first thing I noticed walking into my new room was a dress neatly laid out on the made up bed. I scowled, coming closer to it. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a simple dark blue knee length sleeveless dress. The neckline was a scoop cut, nothing particularly revealing except for possibly my collarbone. Still, I felt the anger boil within me. I wasn’t going to become a dress up doll for the Mad Titan and unless I was forced to dress by his hand I wouldn’t wear it.

Except just looking at the dress made me aware of my own body. I stank, my clothes still stained with blood and grime from the whole ordeal. I cursed under my breath, realizing the only clean clothes were the ones before me. 

I noticed off to my right there was another door. Curious, I stepped forward and tested it, and surely enough it opened. Inside was a cramped bathroom, though it had a shower, toilet, and sink. I snorted, looking back into my bedroom. The whole place reminded me of a small motel room, except far more sanitary than it had any right being. I doubted Thanos could even fit into this room, so a black light test probably wouldn’t turn anything up.

Caving, I tossed off my jacket onto the bed, and wandered into the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes in my wake. I gasped at the hot water that ran over my skin, a welcome feeling on my purpling bruises. Standing under the water, I closed my eyes and let the water wash over my face and body, welcoming the small comfort in between the harrowing experiences I’ve encountered and will surely encounter again. Once the water started cooling down I washed myself, uncertain as to which bottled soaps were body wash or shampoo. They smelled good either way, and I rubbed them all over my body, scrubbing off the sweat and grime. I made sure to get under my nails too. I hadn’t realized how much was caked under my nails earlier, though I suppose there were more pressing matters than beauty at that moment in time.

I exited the shower, dripping onto the small mat below me. I threw a towel over my body as I poked around in the cabinets. There wasn’t much inside, just normal toiletries. No razors though. Apparently I wasn’t trusted enough yet, considering the guard outside my door. 

After relieving myself, brushing my teeth, and drying off, I wandered back into the bedroom. I tossed the towel in the corner of the room, not caring about hanging it up somewhere. Eyeing the dress again, I sighed. As the only set of clean clothes in the room, I wasn’t really left with much of a choice. However, I wouldn’t give Thanos the complete package he wanted.

I found that plain white undergarments were left underneath the dress when I picked it up. I snorted, how thorough they all were. I pulled them on along with the dress, surprised the size was right. I noticed a pair of black flats on the floor next to the bed, and I rolled my eyes. Without any socks to wear, I instead pulled up the black thigh high stockings left with the clothes and then plunked my feet into my discarded leather boots. I smiled as I tied up the laces, imagining how upset they’d be with me wearing bloody, muddy boots in Thanos’ presence. 

I then pulled on my brown bomber jacket, zipping it up snuggly on my body. I searched in the pocket, retrieving the small golden locket necklace from inside and clasping it around my neck. Opening the latch, I stared back at the small face of my father looking back at me. Taking a deep breath, I prayed that somehow I could get through this. I’ve gotten out of every other tight spot I’d been in, and now would be no different. Just exceptionally more difficult.

I jumped at the knocking at my door, and the gruff voice of my guard rumbled out, “Lord Thanos wants to see you now. Hurry up.”

With one last deep breath, I turned and made my way to the door. When I opened it, the guard stared back at me disapprovingly. “Lord Thanos will not appreciate-”

“Yeah, well, if Thanos has a problem with how I dress then he can take it up with me,” I interrupted. 

The guard mulled it over, and perhaps he just wasn’t in the mood to force me to take off my jacket and boots because he turned and led me down the hall without another word. I followed, doing my best to keep track of my surroundings. It was easy to get lost in big ships like these because of the lack of notable landmarks, but I wanted to learn the layout as quickly as I could. Then I’d be one step closer to escaping when the time was right.

It took a good few minutes to reach our destination. Apparently Thanos enjoyed solitude from others, seeing as how there weren’t many other rooms on this part of the ship. We finally arrived at a large doorway, tall enough for Thanos to walk through without ducking his head I assumed. The guard knocked three times, solid and concrete. The hair on the back of my neck stood at the harsh sound, and even more so at the deep voice of Thanos responding clearly even from behind the door, “You may enter.”

The guard stood off to the side and faced out towards the hallway, leaving me to open the door and walk in by myself. I gulped, grasping the heavy, cold handles and pushing slowly. I didn’t expect doors like these on a ship as high tech as this. Perhaps Thanos had an appreciation for the aesthetics of it. The door creaked slightly as it opened, and I slid myself inside and shut the door behind me, the latch closing behind me sounding so final. 

The room was massive, and I imagined fifty of my rooms could fit within this one. I supposed the room seemed normal to a being as large as he was, but it felt quite eerie. All the furniture was fit to his scale as well, and I felt like I’d just downed a bottle of “Drink Me” potion. My eyes wandered briefly at the size of his bed and my stomach lurched, reminding me of my new position as Thanos’ toy… The blood drained out of my face as my eyes widened at the intrusive thoughts funneling through my brain. Jesus Christ, could he even _ fit _ !? 

A low hum of breathing brought my attention back to the other side of the room, Thanos standing menacingly still as he lazily gazed out the window at the stars in front of him. He was out of his armor, and I could see just how massive his musculature was. His arms were the size of tree trunks, his biceps decorated with creased ridges, similar to those on his chin. His tunic was similar in style to his armor, navy blue with gold accents. His belt was gold as well, sitting just above his dark grey slacks. His boots were black with similar gold armor pieces serving as shields to protect his knees. If this was his casual attire, then somehow all the adornments must have been pretty light.

He turned his attention towards me, looking over me with a calculating gaze. I clenched my fists, standing up straighter and holding a stronger stance than earlier. I was prepared to make a case for my jacket and boots, but he acted as if he didn’t see them. Instead, he stared at me with an unamused expression, though I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. However, it had disappeared as soon as it appeared, so perhaps I was mistaken. 

“You certainly seem far more spirited than earlier,” he broke the silence.

I squinted back at him, my shoulders drooping slightly before I put them back up. “And what’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

Thanos cocked his eyebrow. “Perhaps it’s because you’re acting more like a petulant child. Your little fainting spell made me believe you were far meeker than you let on now,” he said, looking me over. “Or the tough guise is to hide the fact that you fear me.”

“I don’t fear you,” I spat. “I don’t fear you, or anyone else here.”

“Of course you don’t,” Thanos replied dismissively. 

I bit the inside of my cheek, reminding myself not to toe the line too closely and say something that would get me killed, or worse. My stomach was already turning at the thought that at any moment he could force me into bed and there would be nothing I could do to stop him. 

Yet he looked as though he couldn’t care less about my presence. Almost as if he was studying me and what I would do next. 

When his gaze flickered back to the window, I allowed mine to drop slightly and take in more of the room. That’s when I saw it: my bag. It was sitting on what was probably a coffee table but resembled more of a normal sized table to me. I clenched and unclenched my fists, imagining Thanos rummaging around through my personal effects. I gritted my teeth, about ready to fire out an insult I would have regretted, but then he spoke, “I didn’t touch your things.”

I shot a glance back up at him, trying to read his expression. His face looked neutral, and yet I couldn’t be sure. “Why should I believe you?” I snapped.

“It doesn’t matter to me whether you believe me or not. You can choose to believe I’m a liar all you want,” Thanos spoke. “I personally think I’m learning far more about you from your own lips than anything I’d find in your bag.”

I glared at him, annoyed that I was just some experiment to him, to poke and prod and learn how it ticks. Thanos moved for the first time since I arrived, his boots thumping on the floor as he made his way to the table. He picked up the strap in his massive hand, the bag dangling down as he lifted it up. Thanos held it out before telling me, “Take it.”

Hesitating for a moment, my gaze wandered between his face and the bag. I swallowed the lump in my throat and straightened back up. The asshole was testing me. I wasn’t certain what he’d do once I reached him, whether he would grab my arm and force me to do whatever he wanted of me, or if he would simply leave me be. One way to find out.

I took a step forward, feeling trepidation with each inch closer to him. He followed me with his gaze, watching each deliberate step I made as I closed the gap. From where I was standing before, I couldn’t really grasp how large in scale he was compared to me. But the closer I became, the more I realized how much he towered over me. The top of my head only barely reached over his belt, and his torso probably just slightly less wide than if I held my arms straight out from my sides. 

I stopped in front of his outstretched hand, his hand far larger than mine. He could probably snap my neck like it was nothing if he wanted. I lifted my head to look back into his eyes, trying to read anything into his true intentions, but he gave nothing away. With a deep breath, I reached out and grabbed the strap from him. My fingertips brushed against his, giving me goosebumps. 

I quickly backed away before he could do anything else, but he made no other moves. I didn’t completely return to my spot across the room, instead opting for a comfortable distance where I wouldn’t have to crane my neck back so far to look at him. My hands trembled slightly as I placed it over my head and rested the strap on my shoulder. I squeezed the bag for comfort once it was back in its rightful place beside my thigh. 

Thanos brought his hand back to his side, and said, “You fainted before you could tell me last time. What is your name?”

I mulled it over, before returning to my go to response: “None of your business.”

His response was swift. “Very well. We don’t have to play nice if you don’t want to. I’ll simply refer to you as your title then, whore.”

It was like a rubber band snapped on the back of my neck, and I scowled at him. Before I could stop myself, it poured out like a waterfall: “Fuck. You. You gigantic, motherfucking, asshole. I’m nobody’s whore, and I’m certainly not  _ your  _ whore. Not matter what you fucking do to me I will never be that. You’ll have to break my arms and legs so I can’t fucking fight back if that’s what you intend to do to me, and even then I’ll still have my teeth to latch on and rip off whatever you stick near me. Do you understand, cocksucker, you have  _ no  _ power over me, and I’ll never do what you want, not while I’m alive! You and your massive fucking chin can hold me to that, fucker! I’ll-”

Thanos stepped closer, prompting me to involuntarily cut off my words. I tried my best to glower at him as he closed the gap with only a few steps, but I’m certain that my shaking limbs were enough to give away my true feelings. I winced when his hand reached out, expecting it to connect across my face. But it didn’t.

His fingers gently tilted my head up, making me look into his face as he leaned forward. Thanos didn’t look as mad as I thought he would have, and instead looked as though he had been wearily scolding a child than angry at being berated by my insults. His thumb brushed against my cheek, callous against my skin.

“You open your big mouth to compensate for how truly scared you feel,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Lashing out in order to trick your enemies into calling your bluff. You’re not the first, and you certainly won’t be the last to do this, little human. You may leave now if you wish.”

With that, he released his grip on my chin and I stared up at him, my mouth gaping open slightly. “You’re not,” I began, but tried to steady my voice more when I realized how small it sounded. “You’re not going to… do anything?”

Thanos tilted his head slightly as he looked down at me. “I have no reason to force you into pleasuring me if you don’t wish it. I have plenty of others that would be more than happy to oblige.” He paused for a moment, taking me in. “If I have any need for you, I will call on you again. Have a good night, little human.”

Still a little shaken up, I began to back away slowly, unsure if this was a trick or not. But when Thanos didn’t bother to call me back to him, I turned and scurried out of the room as fast as I could without making it seem like he had upset me. 

My mind was preoccupied with my encounter with Thanos the entire walk back with the guard as I tried to make sense of what had happened. I barely registered being led back to my room, the door closed and locked behind me. I simply stood there, brow furrowed, and eyes staring at my feet as my hands wrung around my bag strap for comfort. 

If Thanos was telling the truth, if he hadn’t searched through my bag, then everything would be as it was, nothing missing or crinkled. Without wasting another second, I proceeded to dump my bag out onto the bed, staring at everything inside. My hands brushed over my small PDA-like system, the device I used to catalogue all of my travels. A few small journal books in which I kept a log of every memory I could remember from my time on earth so I never forgot what anything looked, smelled, and felt like. I flipped through the pages of one of them, trying to find the photo, make sure it was still there.

Snug tight along the binding, the picture of my parents and I many years ago, when I was still young and my father was still very much alive. We are all smiling at the camera, sitting on a picnic blanket in the park before he got called back on duty. I remember my aunt taking it, sticking her tongue out to get me to laugh for the photo. I smiled, and held the picture to my chest, next to my locket. 

They all might be very far away from here, or not of this universe anymore, but I would get out of this by myself and make them proud. One way or another. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all so if you love reblogs of Thanos/Marvel/horror movies/shitposting content then feel free to follow me on Tumblr @lucifers-trash-stash where I sometimes say smart things but mostly thirst and shitpost. I also post this fic on Tumblr a few days after I release a chapter on AO3 so if you like being tagged in fics it'll be there as well.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn’t long until I’d been informed by Thanos’ guard that I’d been given permission to wander the ship by myself. Thankfully, I’d only had to stay in my room for a few days on good behavior before being let out, so it was a welcome escape even if it was just into a larger cage.

Within the past week, I’d been spending my days walking around the ship and taking mental notes about where everything was, but I hadn’t heard anything more from Thanos. He didn’t call on me, and personally, I was glad. I knew I’d eventually encounter him again, but for now it was nice to be able to roam free without being on a leash.

My normal clothes had been cleaned and given back to me, and I wore them today. Pants felt far more comfortable and practical to me than a dress. When I wear one, I can’t run or fight or do anything. That being said, my wardrobe had been stocked with far more dresses than shirts and pants, and every once in a while I was stuck having to wear a dress. With my jacket and boots, that is.

I left my room and took a right, heading towards the kitchens. I typically ate a quick meal and snuck some extra in my pockets for during the day when I was exploring. It was a pain coming back to the kitchen and wasting time that I could be using getting familiar with the place, so lunch was usually on the road. Hopefully no one was bothered by the random breadcrumbs that happened to fall in my wake. And if they were bothered by it, I didn’t care. If I’m being held as a prisoner against my will, then they’ll just have to deal with me being a slight inconvenience to them.

Making my way through the crowd of alien guards and soldiers, I slipped past and grabbed a bowl of whatever it was they were serving today, a couple small exotic fruits, and a slice of bread. I made my way to a small, mostly empty table in the corner, where those of Thanos’ harem usually sat. Typically his women ate only when the guards were on duty, but I didn’t usually mind. It never hurt to people watch.

Today, there was someone sitting there. I had seen her around, but I’ve made it a point not to speak to any of the other women just yet. While I was incredibly curious who in their right mind would actually willingly fuck Thanos, I’d rather not have it get back to him that I’ve been snooping around for information.

The woman had long blue hair falling over her pale blue face, hiding her silver eyes. She was wearing a large shawl, much like she usually did. She covered up the most out of the other women, though none of them dressed in anything that would be considered too provocative. Even though no one would dare touch something that belongs to Thanos, I felt like he was aware of how his men look at us and so he gives us more modest clothes to combat that.

I left the blue woman to her food while I tied my hair up and dug into mine. There’s a part of me that wonders about why Thanos’ women eat here with the rest of the crew when there’s probably a nicer place for them elsewhere. I’m not saying I’d want to eat dinner with Thanos and his adopted hell-spawn, but I wondered where people of higher power eat in this place. Perhaps I’d find it during future searches.

Leaving my dish on the table like I usually did, I wandered out of the cafeteria and made my rounds down the halls. Most of the area here is lodging for the guards and other lesser workers. How convenient that their cafeteria is so close to where they sleep. The women are all relegated closer to Thanos’ room far out from the rest of the ship, so in order to get anywhere besides Thanos’ room we have to walk forever. No matter, it was good exercise.

Once passing the main lodging rooms, there were a wide array of different technical rooms. As I remembered it, Maw’s lab was somewhere down this way too, though I wasn’t really keen on checking as of yet. I’d managed to keep away from Maw to the best of my abilities, though one time I saw him across the hall and instead of passing him, I quickly turned in the opposite direction so I wouldn’t have to see his smug face. Come to think of it, I really hadn’t seen Thanos around. He probably had a few private areas where he kept to himself, like his bedroom and throne room.

Now, I still didn’t like to travel far into areas that didn’t have as many low level personnel wandering around. The last thing I wanted was to explain to Thanos why I was snooping into places that were beyond my permission. I usually kept to the boundaries of these areas, hoping that perhaps one day I’ll have the guts to try and go for it.

Just as I was turning the corner, I hit a solid, armored chest before stumbling backwards. At first my heart raced, fearing that I’d crashed right into Thanos, but my heart sunk that the reality was about as worse.

Cull Obsidian, another child of Thanos, stood before me with a menacing look on his face for getting in his way. He was taller than Thanos even, and that was saying something. His dark green scales looked just about as menacing as the rest of him, but the real thing that scared me the most was his weapon, a mechanical axe. It glinted dangerously in the light, and I instinctively held up my hands in surrender. Cull was the only one I wasn’t willing to chance talking back to.

“Oh shit, man. I’m sorry,” I pleaded, looking up into his face. “Won’t happen again, I promise.”

Grunting his discontent, Cull cracked one of his knuckles in the process, which made me jump. God, I hoped I would be able to run quick enough from him if I had to.

“Enough, brother,” a male voice called out, making Cull lower his axe.

Two figures rounded the corner, ones I knew as Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, Thanos’ other two children. I’ve never seen the two apart from each other, leading me to believe they had some sort of thing. Not that I’d ever ask for confirmation personally. I really didn’t need to know what sort of pseudo-incestual backwoods relationships were going on behind the scenes with those two.

Cull grunted again and passed me in the hall, brushing up against me as the space was barely wide enough for the both of us. Corvus glared at me through his pulled up hood, but otherwise said nothing more. Proxima, on the other hand, stood in front of me and crossed her arms.

Her eyes stared at me coldly from behind her painted black face and blue hair, her black horns extending from her temples. Proxima always gave off the air of not wanting to be fucked with, and I had to respect that. She looked like she could kick anyone’s ass, honestly. She said nothing for a moment before finally telling me, “Remember your place, Terran. You don’t know what trouble you could find.”

With that, she passed through with Corvus, the trio heading to wherever was next for them. Once they were far enough away so that they couldn’t see me, I decided to flip them off from behind, mouthing obscenities at their backs. Not that it really did much of anything, but it made me feel better.

I grabbed one of the fruits out of my pocket and bit into it. For a small fruit, it was juicier than I thought. I quickly tried my best to cup my other hand under my chin to catch the dribbling liquid but I was too late. Stepping around the floor where the juice landed, I continued on my way. The fruit was really sweet, almost syrupy. I ended up devouring it as I went down a few more hallways. Unsure of what to do with the pit, I looked around for some sort of trash can. When I couldn’t find that, I quickly glanced around for any people or cameras that would be watching, and when I saw none I discarded the pit in the corner of the hall and quickly moved on.

I was starting to enter the more empty areas of the ship. These rooms were barren and desolate, probably meant to be extra space for whatever comes up. Since no one usually hung around these areas, I came here during the day to hang out, relax away from people, and daydream possible escape routes. One of the rooms I typically went to was a large viewing room, the glass window so large that one could see all the stars and planets the ship passed. I referred to it as my observatory room, though I’m certain it had another purpose long ago.

As I stepped into the room, I noticed a new figure that occupied the space. Thanos stood at the window, his hands resting at his sides as he stared out into space. I froze in place, afraid to make any sort of movement in case he would notice me. Dammit, I had gone so long without running into him again, and he just _now_ happens to show up? Something told me this was a set up, and I wasn’t going to have it

Slowly, I placed one foot behind me, careful in not letting the sole of my boot be heard. Then another. So far so good. Just a few more, and I’d be out of the woods.

“I know you’re there, little human,” Thanos said, not bothering to turn around.

I was silent for a second, my mouth gaping open slightly. Crap, so he had figured me out. “How did you know it was me?” I asked.

“I can see your reflection in the glass,” Thanos said. “That, and I was told by the security officers that you’ve been wandering the ship and coming here the most often. Not to mention your proclivities to snacking and leaving your mess everywhere.”

I groaned loudly. “So what, you’re going to put me back in my room and take away my privileges?”

“I would if you were getting into things you shouldn’t. Instead, you’re spending your time keeping out of trouble in an empty storage room. I see no harm in that.” Thanos turned his head towards me. When I didn’t respond, he gestured to the stack of crates I normally sat on.

I grumbled softly, wondering if he watched through the security footage so he could know exactly what crates I always sat on. However, I moved anyways, crossing the room and hoisting myself up. I crossed my legs, giving a side glance to Thanos, who was still taller than me even with the extra crates. He wasn’t standing too close to me, but just enough that it left me fidgety and hyper aware of my movements.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I had begun to relax after a while. I kept focused on the stars outside, and Thanos did the same. I stole a glance at him after a moment, and tried to read his face for anything, but again, it was impossible.

“What were you doing before arriving on my ship?” Thanos asked.

I snorted. “You say that as if I had a choice coming here.” Thanos narrowed his eyes at me, so I continued, “Scrapping for parts mostly. Finding things and selling them. Living off the units.”

“So you’re good with mechanics?”

“I haven’t had formal training or anything, but I can dismantle things well enough, I suppose.” I wasn’t sure why I was being modest, I had figured out my way around this new alien technology well enough for a human. But there was a part of me that wasn’t comfortable hyping myself up to Thanos. Perhaps to leave enough of a distance between the two of us so he couldn’t use the information on me later.

Inevitably, he asked me, “And your life before this?”

Less aggressively than when I refused to tell him my name, I said, “I don’t want to talk about it.” The less he knew about my life, the better.

Thanos didn’t push further, instead letting the silence speak for itself. Then he broke the silence once more, “About your eating habits-”

I interrupted him with a groan. “Look dude, if you put more garbage cans around the place then I might not have to find alternative ways of tossing away my trash.”

His eyebrow raised at my referring to him as ‘dude,’ but he didn’t contest it for the moment. With an almost weary tone, he said, “You have a bag, leave it in there.”

“Eww, no! I’m not gonna put food stuff in there, it’ll get everything messy!” I clutched my bag defensively.

“Then perhaps you should be eating food where you’re supposed to in the first place,” Thanos said firmly, as if he expected the conversation to stop there.

“The other women barely eat in there, and it’s not exactly a shock why they don’t,” I said, crossing my arms and turning more towards him. “I’m not expecting five star service or anything, but I have a feeling those women do a lot more for you than your slobbering guard dogs do.”

“I expect that sort of uncleanly behavior from my ‘slobbering guard dogs,’ however,” Thanos shifted his body towards mine, giving me his full attention. “I do not expect my women to exhibit the same behavior.”

“Oh mercy me, mister,” I said, rolling my eyes and putting on a fake Antebellum accent. “I didn’t realize that when us lady-folk aren’t dainty and demure, the men-folk get right up into a tizzy. Why, it’s giving me the vapors just thinking about it!”

I didn’t push it further, not when Thanos gave me a hard stare. As much as I’d really liked to have kept going, I knew that Thanos still held my fate in his hands and it wasn’t optimal to tease too much.

“When I say I have an expectation regarding my whores, I mean it,” Thanos began. “Just because you’re not pleasuring me yet doesn’t mean that I’m not your master, and that you needn't obey me.”

I looked away for a moment, and Thanos’ fingers brought my chin back into place. Something about his hands always left me nervous, fearful, and yet curious and buzzing with anticipation. I wasn’t sure why, but I would have to sort these emotions out on my own time.

“I simply expect respect from those who work under me,” Thanos said. “Respect is usually paid back to those that give it. Remember this, and you should have no trouble. Understand?”

“Sure,” I said. Thanos then released my chin, causing my head to bob back into place.

After a brief moment, Thanos spoke again. “I must be going now. I have other work to attend to. Take care, little human.”

As Thanos turned to walk away, I suddenly had the need to stop him. It was odd of me, and I wasn’t used to asking for help, especially from a captor. And yet, I felt like I needed to ask him, because even if he said no, I would at least have an answer.

“Hey,” I called out to him, turning around on my boxes. Thanos looked back, waiting for me to continue. “So, uh, what is there to do around here, really? I mean I know what _you_ probably do, given my ‘official’ job title and all. But I haven’t exactly found the intergalactic rec center or anything so you know…” I let my thoughts trail off.

“My women typically talk amongst themselves when they aren’t needed,” Thanos stated.

I snorted. “Look, I know you probably think I’m just dying for the chance to talk even more for longer periods of time, but I’m kind of looking for something a bit more intellectually engaging.” I thought for a minute. “Not saying that they aren’t smart or anything, but talking to the same women every day would get boring pretty quickly.”

Thanos smirked slightly, and I had to do a double take. Before I could think about it much more, Thanos replied, “Perhaps if your behavior improves, then I’ll consider it.”

With that, he turned and left me in the room, my eyes widened at the interaction I’d just had. After a moment, I turned back around to face the window, dangling my legs off the edge of the crate and staring out at the stars. I wasn’t certain how many privileges Thanos typically gave his women, and if I was being given special concessions. Or it could be that it’s a trick to make me subservient and I wouldn’t realize it until it was too late. Or it was both of those things, Thanos perhaps enjoying that I’m giving him a bit of a harder time compared to the others and growing fond our back and forths together.

I really wasn’t sure, but at the moment I knew it was better to be on Thanos’ good side than his bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all so if you love reblogs of Thanos/Marvel/horror movies/shitposting content then feel free to follow me on Tumblr @lucifers-trash-stash where I sometimes say smart things but mostly thirst and shitpost. I also post this fic on Tumblr a few days after I release a chapter on AO3 so if you like being tagged in fics it'll be there as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few days, I was good and didn’t take any food out of the cafeteria, much to my annoyance. I really didn’t care if Thanos would be upset for tracking crumbs all over the place, but I didn’t want to give him another excuse to track me down and talk down to me like a child. So I kept my snacking to a minimum and I ate in the cafeteria as I was instructed to, and Thanos didn’t pester me one bit.

I had kept myself busy by placing coordinates of the ship on my PDA device. I figured it was useful to have a visual representation of all the places I’ve explored and visited on the ship, much as I had done with the cities on other planets I came across. I only worked on it when I was in my observatory room, hiding it as best as I could from where I assumed the cameras were. Since Thanos hadn’t gone through my things, he wasn’t aware of my belongings and might think twice about allowing me this luxury. 

I hadn’t found many new locations, other than discovering where the training area was. I didn’t linger there for too long, as the soldiers were often in there and I didn’t want to be questioned as I poked around. 

Grumbling, I looked over all the empty areas left on the ship’s map. Areas that I was not allowed to visit. The completionist in me really had to see this map finished, but I also realized that in order to see these areas, it might lead to a one way ticket to Thanos, which meant I could say goodbye to my privileges. 

I jumped off of the crates in my personal sanctuary after shutting down and placing the PDA back into my bag. Hunger was starting to rise back in me, and I figured I might as well get some lunch. 

Taking the long way, I passed by the training room again out of curiosity and noticed a female figure through the crack in the door. After checking the hall and seeing no one coming up on me, I wandered over to the door and looked in. It was Proxima, standing in the middle of a ring of soldiers, possibly holding a training simulation to help them improve. Proxima didn’t have her unique spear with her, and instead kept with a long, plain black rod, probably so she wouldn’t accidentally go too far.

As she shouted instructions at the men, they began to attack, raising their own weapons. Gliding across the floor like a dancer, she ducked and swiped at the legs of those that were closest to her. Keeping the momentum, she swung the rod around, knocking back a few more men. When more came at her, she used the rod as a vault, planting it in front of one of the men and swinging her body as she kicked him directly in the face with her heel, pulling the rod back to parry another enemy behind her. It was amazing watching her fight, so swiftly and gracefully, but with a hidden fury that kept her on her toes. No wonder Thanos adopted her.

After someone called for a stop to the fight, Proxima stood back up, barking orders to the men and explaining what they had done wrong. She was ruthless in her words, a scowl crossing her lips as she spoke. As I was admiring her strength and overall badassness, her gaze crossed over the room and locked on mine for a split second. 

I ducked down quickly, hoping that I wasn’t spotted. No one came after me though, and I heard Proxima continue without missing a beat. I shuffled past the door, and pushed myself up fast and scurried down the hall before anyone could catch me. 

When I entered the cafeteria, I noticed it was considerably empty, most of the soldiers and guards off doing their daily duties. Instead, I noticed there were far more women here than during the usual meal hours, and I assumed these were a few of Thanos’ women. I wasn’t sure how many women Thanos… owned. I figured it would be rude to ask. 

There were three at one of the tables, one of them the light blue skinned alien wearing the shawl I saw the other day. Another was a tall, yellow skinned alien with angular facial features and a long mane of tentacle-like hair the same color as her skin. The third one was a Krylorian woman with bright magenta skin and long, flowing black hair. 

Glancing at them for only a moment, I intended to not bother them and instead eat as quickly as I could so I could go back to my work. As usual. I ladeled myself some soup, smiling at the nice smell emanating from it. Hot soup was always my go to comfort food when I was feeling upset, and it’s hard to say no to it. Even if it was made by some mean looking aliens in the kitchens on a ship that belonged to the destroyer of worlds. 

I was about to turn and plop myself down at the closest table, but then I suddenly heard a chirpy voice call my attention. I looked over and the yellow alien was smiling and waving me over. The Krylorian smiled shyly, while the blue skinned alien didn’t look up at all. Sighing, I wandered over, not wanting to seem rude. I suppose this was what Thanos expected anyways, the hens clucking about while the big muscle bound rooster takes care of things. 

I’m barely at the table when the yellow alien begins twittering excitedly, “Oh my gosh, you’ve been so hard to get in touch with! You just seem to be a little busy bee, just going about your business and all.” She giggled and continued, “I’m sorry, I just keep getting ahead of myself, my name is Elsy, this here is Tuella,” she then pointed to the Krylorian woman. “And this is Aphua,” she said, pointing to the blue skinned woman. “What’s your name?”

I sat down, looking over the three women. While Aphua didn’t seem to care about me being here, Elsy and Tuella were waiting on me with expectant looks. I felt kind of bad not wanting to tell them my name. They were nice girls, and I didn’t really want to hurt their feelings. 

So, wanting to be truthful, I told them flat out, “It’s really nice to meet you guys, but I’m still not comfortable telling people my name.”

“Ohhhhhh so you’re going the mysterious route,” Elsy said, waving her fingers as if she was doing magic. “I like it! Tell me, how have you been enjoying your new life here?”

I sipped my soup, chewing on a piece of vegetable. Elsy seemed like one of those people that was just super cheery over everything, and I wondered if she did that to feel a bit better about her situation. I told her, “I’ve been through better, certainly, but I’m alive and that’s all that matters.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Elsy said, placing her head in her hand. “I hope it’s not too much to ask, but how are you enjoying yourself with the Master?”

I sputter on my soup, choking on it a little, causing Aphua to finally look up. 

Before I could say anything, Tuella gave a concerned look to Elsy. “That’s kind of personal to ask, don’t you think?” she asked, urging Elsy to drop her smile for a moment.

“Ahhhh, I’m so sorry!” Elsy exclaimed, grabbing my hand that wasn’t shoveling soup into my mouth as she wailed on, “I’m just so used to talking with the other women about these things, I didn’t realize that it might be rude to ask someone I’ve never talked to before this! Please forgive me!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I promise,” I assured her, giving her a sympathetic look. I hated seeing her green eyes welling up before me, and I felt bad that she was getting this upset over a little faux pas. I sighed, getting ready to kick myself for engaging any further. “There’s nothing going on.”

The women all looked at me with various stages of shock. I could already tell that confiding myself to them was a bad idea, I wasn’t exactly preparing to have any sort of conversation regarding Thanos today.

“I’m surprised,” Tuella said, speaking before Elsy could stop her gasping. “Typically those that don’t wish to be intimate with the Master… don’t leave their chambers at all.”

“Yes, those poor things,” Elsy whined. “Many of them are heartbroken from being taken away from their homes and loved ones. They never forgive the Master and would rather die alone in their rooms.”

I raised my eyebrow. “You speak of forgiveness. So you’ve forgiven him?” 

Elsy for once didn’t look like she had an answer, instead opening her mouth and closing it every time an idea crossed her mind. Tuella instead chimed in, “It’s… complex. In my case, I was a sex slave for the Kree before this. I’m sure you’re aware of their reputation.” 

I nodded. The Kree abducted many aliens from their homes or bought them through black market trade; usually sexually abusing the women and forcing the men to perform in brutal gladiator matches. It was the worst fate for anyone captured and put into slave trafficking. 

“Well,” Tuella continued, wringing her hands together. “Master saved me from my Kree slaver after he went back on his word. Master allowed me to return here, with him, and he treats me far better than any other master I’ve had before him. That is how I judge this situation. The Master treats me better, feeds me, and provides me with shelter. That’s more than I was ever given before.”

Elsy nods somberly. “I too had a similar situation. I wouldn’t say I forgive Master for keeping me here, but I am cared for,” she tells me.

Aphua quickly stood up, taking her plate with her. I watched as she deposited the dish in the wash bin and scurried out of the room. Elsy was about to speak, but Tuella instead put her hand over her friend’s and said, “Aphua hasn’t had the best time adjusting to her life here. She has only given us small bits of information, but hasn’t felt comfortable talking about her experiences yet.”

I nodded, taking another sip of my soup. I felt incredibly odd. Was it fair to say Thanos was a good person if he ‘saved’ some people and yet stole the lives of others? I didn’t believe so. However, from the way that Tuella and Elsy talked of their experiences, I think they already knew that as well. I couldn’t blame them for looking on the bright side of a harsh reality. 

Elsy’s hand returned to mine, patting it softly. “I’m not certain if this is your reasoning, but you have no need to fear the Master. He’s quite an attentive lover,” Elsy said. When Tuella sighed and glared at Elsy, she defended herself, “What? It’s true!”

“Uhhh, thanks,” I sputtered, trying to focus on my soup but finding my face flushing a brilliant shade of red. I  _ really _ didn’t need to hear any of this.

“Yes, you’re quite welcome,” Elsy continued. “He can seem a bit… large at times, but I promise that he’s aware of this and will make accommodations to make sure you’re comfortable.”

Before I could come up with a coherent response other than the high pitched screaming noise inside my head, a shadow fell over my soup. Panicking, I looked up at the guard that stood before me. “Master Thanos wishes to speak with you in his chambers.” 

Crap crap _ CRAP _ . What perfect timing. Standing up, I quickly tried to compose myself and shove any sexual thoughts regarding Thanos out of my brain. I didn’t even bother with my bowl, a bit too jittery to focus on anything besides keeping my cool. 

“Bye Mysterious Girl!” Elsy called out to me while waving. Tuella gave me a sheepish smile, waving to me as well. I clutched my locket as I followed the guard out of the room. Good lord, someone help me through this. 

* * *

After being permitted entry, I entered Thanos’ bedroom. I had regained most of my composure, but there was a part of me that kept urging myself to think of literally anything other than what Elsy had been telling me of Thanos. It wouldn’t really help my case getting flustered around him if I was trying to keep an emotional distance between us. 

Thanos was waiting for me, body already turned towards the door. This was the first time I had encountered him when he wasn’t standing at a window and looking out it like a broody teenager. That almost made me nervous and I wondered why he was waiting for me. 

“Hello, little human. You look well,” Thanos said.

I shrugged. “Thanks. What’s up?”

“I haven’t heard more about any issues with taking food out of the cafeteria. Thank you,” Thanos said.

“You’re welcome,” I said, brow furrowed. Does Thanos ever say thank you to people? I never would have imagined he was capable of it. I asked, “So, was that all?”

“No. I have someplace I’d like to show you.” He then made his way towards me, and I stepped aside as he opened up the door. 

I closely followed behind him, trying my best to remember these hallways for my map system. It wasn’t in an area I was typically permitted to roam on my own, and I wondered what was so important for Thanos to show me. 

I stared up at him as he walked, taking notice of his massive shoulders, how his rippling muscles moved when he walked… No, get it together! I kept my face as neutral as I could, opting instead to look on the floor in front of me as I followed behind. 

I stopped just in time to prevent myself from walking right into Thanos as he arrived at a set of doors. When he opened them and walked inside, I peered around his hip to get a glimpse of what was hidden behind the doors. 

As much as I tried to restrain my emotions around Thanos- besides my anger, I suppose- I couldn’t help but audibly gasp as I scooted around him and let my gaze travel around the room. It was a large ceilinged room, stuffed to the absolute brim with books. Real books. When most every text in the galaxy is digital, here there were real books. There were many shelves that lined the walls, many times taller than even Thanos. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how many were here, but I could feel myself drooling over them, wanting to look at them all.

As if reading my mind, Thanos gestured to the shelves. “Go ahead,” he said.

I didn't need to be told twice. Making my way to the closest shelf, I ran my finger along the spines of the books, many in different alien languages. Luckily, that didn’t worry me too much since I had the technology to translate the material. I pulled a large, hardback tome off of the shelf, flipping through the pages of foreign symbols. 

Thanos let me continue for few more minutes, watching as my hands picked up and put back a multitude of books. It didn’t matter if I could read them or not, they simply felt good to hold. It was my personal heaven.

I almost forgot I had company in the room until Thanos spoke up. “What you see are the multitudes of texts from different civilizations across the galaxy. All at your fingertips. Are you impressed?”

“You’ve got no fucking idea…” I trailed off, forgetting to hide the excitement in my voice. 

“I could allow you to borrow from here time to time, if that would please you,” Thanos offered. 

My eyes widened and I turned on my heel to face him. I think I actually cracked a genuine smile for the first time since arriving here, certainly the first that Thanos had seen. “Holy shit, are you serious? You would let me? Oh my god, this is so fucking cool, seriously-”

Thanos held up a hand, and I stopped in my tracks. My stomach flopped. This wasn’t a good sign. 

“I would allow you to do this if you were to do something for me in return,” he said, watching for my reaction.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Almost a little afraid to ask, I spoke up, “And what exactly do you want in return?”

Thanos lowered his hand, an amused glint in his eye. If I had doubts before, they were intensified now. “I only ask you treat me with respect. And in order to do that, you need to address me properly to myself and others when you speak of me. You must call me your master, and then I will allow you this favor.”

A new surge of heat rushed to my face. He had me here and he knew it. He might have had to bribe me, but he would slowly get his way eventually. Perhaps that’s what scared me the most, how first it would simply be calling him master, and then it would only be a matter of time before he had me in his bed. If I gave him this, how much more would I end up giving in the long run?

But I really wanted this. He knew I wanted it. I knew what might inevitably happen, and yet I wanted this  _ one _ thing. Only this one thing. He did tell me he wouldn’t force me to have sex with him, and I doubted that there was anything in the world that could bribe me into doing that… Oh God, was I really considering this?

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself. I looked up at his gaze again, and nodded. “I’ll do it.”

“Then say it. Thank me for allowing you this privilege,” Thanos responded, his eyes studying me carefully. 

I bit my bottom lip, looking down at the ground. I caught myself quickly, instead standing straighter and holding my shoulders back. He might get me to say this, but I wouldn’t say it like some meek defeated woman.

I met his gaze, staring into his eyes as I mustered up my strongest sounding voice and told him, “Thank you, Master.”

A triumphant smirk crossed Thanos’ face before he spoke, “You’re welcome, little human. Now pick something out and I will escort you back.”

I turned around, allowing my face to drop as I concentrated on the spines in front of me. However, it was hard to focus when I could feel Thanos’ eyes stare into my back, all smug from his little victory. I grabbed a blue hardcover book at random and walked towards Thanos. He held the door open for me, and I walked past him. 

He led me back to the hallway where his room was, and stopped at his door. He turned to me and gave me an expectant look. After a brief pause, where I wasn’t sure what he wanted of me, he spoke up. “I will see you another day, little human. Take care.”

“Oh, uh, you too,” I said. Thanos raised his eyebrows, still waiting. Once I realized what he wanted, I grumbled a bit to myself. Damn, he was milking this for all it’s worth. I put my strong voice on again, craning my neck up to get a good look at his eyes. “Thank you, Master. I’ll see you later.”

He smiled and nodded, allowing me to leave now. I clutched the book to my chest and turned back to the hallway leading out to the rest of the ship. I didn’t run, simply walked, because I still didn’t hear the click of his door that meant he’d gone back inside. 

Thanos was watching to see what I would do. The stakes were much higher now, and I needed to be more careful when I interacted with him again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me a while guys, hopefully I can get caught back up with writing and editing this fic <3 I'm so happy for the people who have left comments and kudos, you guys motivate me and make me feel really happy about the work I produce, thank you <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While not a full NSFW warning on this chapter, this is the beginnings of it for this fic. Specific chapter warnings are our main character getting a little hot and bothered and a very buff Thanos ;)

Groggily, I laid awake on my stomach. My blanket was pulled over my head and my face was pressed into my pillow. It was far too early for me to be awake, considering I’d spent the night just flipping through pages of the book I had borrowed the day before. Even though I was one of the lucky ones to have a translator chip implanted in my throat soon after being taken from Earth, it was useless at deciphering dead languages. The most it could do was find similar symbols to all of the current languages uploaded onto the device, so I had spent my time trying to make sense of the text. The most I understood was that it was a history book detailing some ancient alien species long wiped out from existence. It was more of an exercise in futility than anything closely resembling fun.

Maybe today I’d stop by the library and poke around some more. Without being watched from a distance by Thanos. Hopefully I could find something there I’d be able to read, preferably from Earth, though it would take forever to sort through all the material. It would be a better use of my time, considering most of my days were filled with wandering around the ship. 

Shifting my position slightly to dip further into the mattress, I let my mind wander. I hoped Thanos told his guards I’d be allowed to go to the library without any hassle or anything. However, it could be amusing if I was brought to Thanos anyways. I smiled, imagining standing behind Thanos while he chewed out the guard, with me making “nyeh nyeh” faces at the guard with him not being able to do jack shit about it. But then that meant I’d have to actually see Thanos again and call him ‘Master’ and I wasn’t particularly in the mood for that little venture after the humiliation I endured yesterday.

I felt a clench in my stomach just thinking about it. Thanos and his smug fucking grin watching me call him Master. Acting as if he had me in the palm of his hand. His massive hand. With fingers so big they practically engulfed my face when he held my chin so firmly…

My eyes shot open. I suddenly realized that the clenching in my stomach wasn’t anger at Thanos. No, it was… need. Without thinking of it, my thighs pressed together on their own, seeking pressure to ease the ache. 

I clenched my eyes shut and buried my head in my pillow, pulling my thighs apart. No, this isn’t going to fucking happen. Me and my stupid fucking hormones aren’t going to get in the way of me trying to figure out an escape out of this place. I was already getting closer, Thanos was trusting me more and allowing me a bit more free reign to explore. Allowing me to read his books was a baby step towards freedom, but still a step.

Just as I was calming down at the notion of finding more books, reading books, and shoving my face in books and taking that deep inhale of old book smell, a familiar nagging voice at the back of my head spoke up.  _ You haven’t had any action in a long time. Not even to masturbate. You deserve it, there’s no harm in touching yourself, indulging a little. _

I groaned loudly and took my pillow and pressed it on top of my head, trying to block out the sounds of my brain trying to persuade me into giving in. Never in my fucking life would I want to masturbate to the thought of him, no fucking way. He’s my captor, keeping me here against my will. He murders whole planets of people for whatever the fuck purpose he has, I don’t know. He tortures people and makes his ‘children’ kill anyone who stands against them. Innocents. That’s the most disgusting, abhorrent thing I could think of to try to get my brain back on track.

After the voices had quelled a bit, I laid there, breathing heavily into the soft fabric. Even though I’d done everything I could, Elsy’s voice whispered into my ear, reminding me of how she said he was an attentive lover and that he was large…

And then the floodgates broke.

_ Okay, so considering how massive he is, how large are we talking here? Like, is it the circumference of my arm big? Would my hand even be able to fit around it? Jesus Christ, how on earth would he even be able to fit into anything??? I sure hope to god he’d use lube. Is there even lube in space? Holy shit, is there  _ **_space lube_ ** _??? _

With an angry shout, I sat up and hurled the pillow at the wall, watching it flop down onto the floor. No, I wasn’t going to give into these thoughts. Fuck Thanos, fuck him and his big stupid chin and his stupid fucking hands and his idiotically goofy big boots and just-

I let these thoughts run through my brain as I hopped out of bed and headed for the bathroom, fully intending to take an ice cold shower and forget this even happened. 

* * *

Stomping down the hallway, I grumbled to myself as I wandered aimlessly. I had never been awake on the ship this early, and apparently it was still too early to get breakfast. So here I was, hungry and bored with nowhere to go. Nowhere besides walking around, I suppose.

Once I had calmed down a bit more, I found myself nearing the training room. Surely there was no one inside at this hour? Maybe I could sneak in and take a look at the place from inside before anyone could catch me.

As I neared the door, I heard talking from inside. Cursing to myself, I wondered who I’d be spying on today. Being careful not to get myself caught like last time with Proxima, I kept my face out of the window as much as I could before looking inside.

To my surprise, Thanos was standing in the middle of the room. Cull, Corvus, and Proxima were also there, listening to him speak. I honestly didn’t see Thanos as the type of guy that would participate in sparring, but I supposed he’d have to periodically check up on his ‘children’ to make sure they were up to his standards. All of them except for Maw, who was missing from the line up. Apparently he must be above this sort of training.

As the Black Order began to take their stances, Thanos reached his hand behind his back, gripping onto the collar of his shirt. Curious as to what he was doing, I leaned forward against the small glass window and squinted. Was there like a sword on his back or something? It seemed unlikely, as the rest of them were without weapons and opting for hand to hand combat. Then what was he doing?

And then it hit me. I watched as he yanked his tunic over his head with a swift motion, tossing it onto the floor behind him as he waited for one of them to come at him. 

Holy shit.

I knew Thanos was built pretty well simply from his large physique, but  _ Christ _ I hadn’t imagined anything like this. I wasn’t typically the kind of woman to stop dead in her tracks because of some dude with big muscles, but  _ damn _ . Thanos was simply massive, his muscles well-defined and still as he waited for the right moment to strike. My eyes traced the lines of his abs, dipping down further to the V of his hips…

Before I could scold myself for thinking about Thanos like that on top of those fantasies I had this morning, Cull suddenly lunged at Thanos. Without so much as a flinch, Thanos turned quickly to face him and grabbed Cull’s fist. As Cull wound his other fist to connect with the side of Thanos’ head, Thanos quickly brought up his free arm and blocked the move and slammed his shoulder into Cull to knock him off balance. 

Proxima and Corvus paced along the sidelines, obviously waiting for an opportune moment for Thanos to let his guard down. I had the feeling those two were really no match for Thanos in hand to hand combat, and their only means of attack were to simply strike and evade.

As Cull stumbled, Thanos punched him in the stomach, knocking him down onto the ground. Thanos then brought his arm back, his muscles tensed, and threw his fist onto Cull as he lay there on the floor. But Cull managed to roll out of the way just in time, leaving Thanos open.

That’s when Proxima and Corvus made their move. While Thanos had his back turned, the two ran at him, ready to deliver a double kick into his back. But Thanos was smarter than that. With one swipe of his arm behind him, he knocked the two out of the air and they landed quite a ways away from where he knelt.

Cull was already back onto his feet, and he went for a kick this time. Thanos simply grabbed Cull’s foot, yanking him down to Thanos’ level. Cull bellowed out in anger as Thanos spun around him and pinned Cull to the floor with his knee between his shoulder blades and one of his arms twisted behind him.

Proxima and Corvus decided to try taking Thanos from both sides, Proxima taking the left and Corvus taking the right. As Cull squirmed to get out of Thanos’ hold, Thanos turned his attention to the other two children. With one of his hands occupied, I knew he was going to have to take the hit from someone. Thanos batted aside Proxima with his free hand, while Corvus’ heel connected with the side of Thanos’ face. Corvus had no time to scramble backwards from Thanos before Thanos gripped onto the front of his robes and threw him towards Proxima. I flinched as he landed on top of her with a loud grunt of pain from the both of them. 

Cull continued to struggle, trying to find a way to get out from Thanos’ hold. The Titan held firm, pressing Cull’s trapped hand further behind his back until he finally gave in with a slap of his free hand against the floor. 

Thanos stood up faster than I thought he would, letting Cull roll over onto his back. Corvus and Proxima were already sitting up, faces sullen from defeat. Thanos spoke again, turning his attention to the two. I assumed he was lecturing them, and I watched as Proxima stood up and held out her hand for Corvus to take. Thanos offered the same gesture to Cull, and as Cull stood up, Thanos kept his hand firm on Cull’s as he spoke. It was then I realized how the two were so close in height, but Cull might have beat him by a few inches. Thanos, however, still seemed to be the reigning champion in the bulk muscle department. 

As I watched Thanos step away from Cull, I saw him turn his head slightly towards where I stood behind the door. Having learned my lesson from catching eyes with Proxima the other day, I quickly ducked under the door and slid down, leaning against it. That was almost too close of a call. Proxima was one thing, but having Thanos know I was watching him? Fuck, he’d never let it go and hold it over me every time he saw me.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door swinging open from under me. I fell back onto the floor, yelping in surprise. As I looked up from the floor, I saw Proxima smirk as she leaned over me. “Hello, Terran,” she purred. “Looks like you just couldn’t help poking your nose around here again.”

I did my best to force a smile on my face in the hopes that I wouldn’t immediately get the shit kicked out of me. “There’s no harm in simple admiration of strong fighters, now is there?” I asked, hoping to butter her up. When she didn’t budge, I sighed and let my smile drop. “Fine, when did you figure out I was here?”

Proxima scoffed. “I actually didn’t notice you until Thanos told me to let you in. He wishes to speak with you.”

With that, she turned and walked back towards where Corvus stood on the other side of the room. My stomach fluttered with anticipation of having to speak to Thanos while my mind was racing with inappropriate thoughts of him. I flipped over onto my front and pushed myself back up off of the ground.

The room was incredibly large, and I immediately spotted Thanos sitting across the room on bench, watching me closely. I gulped, willing my feet to move forward to talk with him. Cull ignored me as he passed me to leave the training room. Proxima and Corvus stood off to the side, watching me as I forced myself to not give them a dirty look. The two seemed to be talking under their breath, but once I passed them, I heard their footsteps and the sound of the door thudding back into place.

Only Thanos and I were left. 

I finally stood in front of Thanos, keeping my distance by a good few feet, and crossed my arms. He sat slightly hunched over, still shirtless. He didn’t seem to be out of breath, but I noticed the beads of sweat rolling down along his body. My eyes focused back onto Thanos as he spoke, “Is that how you greet your master? By pouting and crossing your arms?”

I put my arms by my sides instead, tilting my head off to the side as I refused to meet his gaze. “Hello, Master,” I muttered halfheartedly.

Thanos chuckled. “I’m certain you can do better than that, little human.”

I rolled my eyes and looked at him and his smug fucking face. In a monotone voice, I repeated myself, “Hello Master.” 

“Better. Now tell me, little human, why are you here this early?” 

I shrugged. “I just woke up early is all. Why are  _ you _ here early?”

“It’s quiet in the morning. Peaceful,” Thanos said.

“Yeah, kicking the shit out of each other before the crack of dawn sure is peaceful,” I said sarcastically.

“It helps to get the blood flowing. But you didn’t answer me. Why are you _ here _ ?” he asked.

“I don’t know, I tend to just walk around when I’m bored. I stopped because I heard noises and now,” I gestured to myself. “Here I am.”

Thanos gave me an amused look. Running on my current train of thought, I continued, “Anyways, how in the hell did you know I was there? You never looked over at me once.”

Chuckling, Thanos sat up a bit more, placing his hands on his knees. It gave me a bit more of a glimpse at his body, but I didn’t dare look with him in front of me like this. “Well, perhaps if your eyes weren’t occupied with other parts of me, then you’d have noticed me looking over at your face pressed against the door.”

My eyes widened, and I sputtered. “What!?” I finally spat out. “No! God no! I wasn’t looking at you like that! Christ, get over yourself!” 

“I’m sure you weren’t.” Thanos simply laughed at my frustration. 

“I wasn’t! I was just watching the fighting is all,” I said, trying to backtrack. “I used to watch that back on Earth sometimes. Wrestling and shit like that.” It wasn’t a lie, I did watch wrestling with my parents when I was younger. 

Thanos hummed to himself. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Is fighting something you’re passionate about?” he asked.

I paused for a moment. “Kinda. I’m not very good at it. I’ve wanted to improve, sure, but that’s how it goes, I suppose. Only so much time in the day.”

“Are you serious about being willing to learn?” he asked.

I furrowed my brow. “Maybe?” I responded slowly, unsure of what he was leading to.

Thanos looked into my eyes. “If you want to learn, then I could train you.” When I simply stared at him, he explained, “I take honing one’s skills seriously. If you’re willing, then I could help.”

It was incredibly tempting. But it also bothered me. It seemed too easy. Why would Thanos offer one of his women a chance to train? To be stronger? It surely would never be enough to escape Thanos, but it was the closest chance one could get. 

And yet, I couldn’t take it. I didn’t trust him.

“No thanks. I can take care of myself,” I said, crossing my arms again. 

Thanos simply smiled. “I’m sure you can,” he said. I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or just teasing me. Before I could, my stomach growled, loudly, breaking the silence. Thanos actually tilted his head back and laughed, a deep, rich, genuine laugh that I hadn’t heard from him before. Still, I was red in the face, scowling at him as he laughed at me. 

When he finally stopped laughing, he gave me a soft smile. “Go eat, little human. The kitchens are probably open by now.”

I didn’t wait for him to say anything more, and I quickly turned around and stormed out of the room. I wasn’t going to give him another opportunity to get the upper hand on me again.

* * *

Later on in the day, I happily made my way towards the library, having had no encounters with anyone trying to stop me the entire way there. Something about going to a library always left me feeling so giddy; being able to lose myself in the pages for a few hours while I explored new worlds was a relaxing feeling. 

Pushing the doors open, I entered that world. I smiled as I gazed over the room, trying to figure out where to go first. I pulled the book I had out of my bag and set it up back in its place on the shelf. Looking up, I tried to see what kind of books were on the higher shelves, but I couldn’t read the spines from that distance. 

I glanced around the room looking for one of those rolling library ladders I’ve always wanted to ride around the library when I was a little kid. But I didn’t find any. I put my hands on my hips and looked up, groaning. What kind of bullshit library was this? I can’t even reach the higher shelves! Who in the fuck could even get those books? 

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to think. I stepped back and stared at the shelves, trying to figure out how to get up there without breaking my neck. And then it hit me. I walked up to the shelf, pulling at it a little. No wobbling. I tested putting my weight on one of the lower shelves; nothing moved there. This was probably the dumbest idea I could have had, but it was worth a shot. I was just glad I’d worn my pants today.

With a grunt, I climbed a good five feet off of the ground, glancing over the spines to see if I could find anything from Earth. Nothing so far. As I climbed higher and higher, the stupider I felt. And then, the thought of how I’m going to even get back down invaded my brain. Too late, I was in too deep to give up now. 

“What are you doing?” a voice asked out of nowhere, and I almost slipped off of the shelf under my grip. Somehow, I stayed on, and glanced over my shoulder to look down. I immediately let out an exasperated groan at the familiar face staring up at me.

Maw stood, his hands laced together as he looked up curiously at me. I couldn’t tell if he was amused or annoyed by my little stunt, but I didn’t particularly care. Here I was hoping I wouldn’t see Thanos again today after that embarrassing encounter, and I ended up with my second worst person I didn’t want to see.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I spat. “There’s no ladders in this damn place and I’m trying to look for books. How on earth do you guys get to any of these shelves?”

A book slid out from beside my head, slowly floating down until Maw held it in his hand. I narrowed my eyes at him. Of course. 

“Personally, I don’t need a ladder. However, you somehow missed the hover lift here,” Maw gestured to the floor next to one of the shelves. I hadn’t noticed it when I was walking around, but there was certainly something there hidden under one of the tables. 

“Oh that’s such bullshit,” I grumbled to myself. 

“Do you need help getting down?” Maw asked.

I scowled. “I don’t need your help for anything! I can get down myself.”

Maw shrugged and turned to another bookcase, as if I was boring him. “Fine by me.”

Taking a deep breath, I focused on scaling my way back down the shelves. However, Maw’s voice broke out through the silence when I was trying to concentrate. “Was there something you were looking for in particular?” he asked.

I grunted as I stepped down another shelf. “Something from Earth,” I called down.

“Of the many books you could read, you want something from home? How droll.”

“I didn’t ask your opinion!” I said. When I turned to speak, my foot slipped off of the shelf. I was about to cry out, but then my foot stuck to something that I couldn’t see. I looked around confused for a moment before coming to a conclusion. “I said I didn’t need your help, Maw!”

“Would you really like me to let your foot go?” Maw asked with bored amusement. “If you say so…” 

“Fine! Fine, help me down,” I conceded. 

Maw, his back still turned to me, responded, “Let go of the shelves.”

Taking a deep breath, I did as he asked. Instead of dropping quickly, it was as if someone was gripping my waist. I was gently brought back to the floor, my arms crossed and mind stewing over needing help in the first place. 

Maw’s back was still turned to me when I reached the floor, and I turned to face him. A few books were levitating down from the shelves in front of him, and he clicked his tongue as he pulled a few more out. He then turned to me and spoke, “As you’re surely aware, there aren’t many Terran trinkets this far out in the galaxy-”

“However…?” I interjected.

“However,” Maw continued, his eyes narrowing at me. “I, as well as Thanos, do our best to acquire knowledge from across the galaxy. If there was anywhere this far out that had Terran books, it would be in this collection. Now,” he closed his eyes and tapped his fingers in midair, as if typing on a computer. “I assume you prefer English language material, which narrows things down a bit more. We have Homer, Shelley, Alighieri, Fitzgerald, Poe, Bronte, Dickens, Lovecraft, Melville, Carroll, Alcott, Hawthorne, Doyle-”

I had to interrupt him, otherwise he’d go on forever. I didn’t realize that when he said he narrowed the search, there would still be this many. “Poe is fine,” I told him.

Maw’s ice blue eyes flickered open as he crooked his finger, taking a book out from one of the topmost shelves. I made a mental note of where abouts the book was plucked from, hoping that the other Earth books would be there when I went searching next time. “A rather intriguing author,” Maw mused. “I would personally prefer to find more historical and scientific accounts regarding Terra, but these are amusing vignettes nonetheless.”

I watched as the hardbound book floated into Maw’s hand, and he tilted his hand down for me to take it. Just as I was about to, Maw quickly retracted his arm with a smile. “You must have been on your best behavior for Lord Thanos to allow you in here,” he said with a smirk. 

“Yeah, he-” I stopped myself, watching as Maw’s brow raised slightly. Thanos told me I had to refer to him by master to everyone, and I began to wonder if this was what Maw wanted me to do. Acting all nice and then waiting for his moment to hold this over me. I pursed my lips slightly, and continued, “My Master felt I was behaving better.”

A grin creeped up Maw’s lips as he finally handed the book to me. “Didn’t I tell you that Thanos would cure you of your defiant tone? Apparently it’s working beautifully.”

I scowled and took the book from him. I elected to ignore his little comment and walk straight to the door, but his voice called out. “Sit down,” he said, gesturing to the chairs in the middle of the room.

Standing there for a moment, I mulled over my choices. Play nice, or get upset and possibly get choked out again. Sighing, I decided to keep on his good side. I went to sit on the smaller of the two chairs, and Maw, as if reading my mind even though his back was turned, told me, “Not that one. It’s my seat.”

I made a mocking face to myself as I went to walk over to the other one. This was certainly Thanos’ chair, though I couldn’t imagine Thanos sitting down to read. I flopped down in the chair as it immediately engulfed me. The fabric was nice and soft, and I almost didn’t mind sitting here even if Thanos had sat here in the past. 

Maw sat down in his own seat, a stack of books floating beside him. I watched as one book hovered before him and he scanned the pages with his fingers, pages flipping quickly on their own. I mentally rolled my eyes to myself. Of course Maw could speed read. 

I decided to ignore him and make myself comfortable, but before I could scoot back and pull my feet up, Maw chided me, “If you’re going to put your feet up, take your boots off. I don’t assume you’d like to answer to Thanos as to why his chair is tarnished?”

Grumbling, I kicked off my boots and sat back in the chair with my knees up. Since the chair was so big, I was comfortable sitting in whatever position I wanted. I wish I had one of these chairs all the time. 

I opened the book and lazily skimmed through the table of contents trying to find the stories I wanted. I doubted I’d be able to concentrate well enough with Maw and his cycle of never ending floating books. I let my eyes glaze over on the pages, flipping occasionally. 

After about ten minutes or so, Maw’s head suddenly flicked upwards. I snapped my attention back to him, thinking he was going to have something more to say to me. Instead, he stood up quickly and swiped his hand down, setting the books in a neat stack by his feet. His robes swished as he made his way to the door, not bothering to explain to me what was going on. 

And then I heard it, the screaming. It started off softly at first, and then only became louder and louder as it approached. I closed my book, shoving it in my bag and slipping into my boots before moving closer behind Maw. He had the door open, but wasn’t moving. He put his hand out behind him, keeping me from leaving. Without turning to me, he said, “I suggest you don’t look. Lord Thanos isn’t in a particularly good mood.”

Without another word, Maw slipped into the hall, leaving the door open and facing the sound of the noise with his hands behind his back. I couldn’t manage to step away from the door, recoil back around the corner and hide from sight. Instead, I waited for the screaming to come closer.

Maw didn’t say a word as the prisoner passed him, led by two guard drones that held the bloodied and bruised alien in place. Maw followed behind them, no doubt wanting to be a part of whatever interrogation was about to happen next. 

After a few deep breaths, I allowed myself to step outside of the room, figuring the threat had passed me now. But I was wrong.

I stepped out into the hall, and immediately to my left was Thanos, stepping towards the direction where the prisoner was being taken. Now with me in his way, he stopped and stared at me. My blood ran cold. Thanos was wearing his full armor, looking even more imposing than he did when he was wearing it on his throne. His eyes locked onto mine as he stared down at me from behind his helmet. I’d never seen Thanos like this before, and his eyes, his eyes were burning with cool, simmering rage. Whatever the man had did, it had set him on edge. And I was standing in his way, frightened and shaking in my boots. 

Without thinking, I did what I knew wouldn’t upset him. I stepped back, holding my head down and clasping my hands in front of me, submitting before him. “I’m sorry, Master.” My voice faltered out of fear. 

Thanos said nothing, but grunted an affirmative. He then walked around me, following Maw and the prisoner down the hall. I lifted my head just as Thanos turned the corner, and I allowed myself to collapse on the floor, trying to steady my breathing. I thought my chest was going to burst with how much my heart was beating. 

My lip trembled slightly, and I felt tears stream down my face. Why was I crying? He hadn’t done anything to me. But when I recalled that stare, I was reminded of just how cold and ruthless Thanos was, no matter how calm he seemed in our interactions. The harsh reality that the Thanos I spoke to this morning was only a cover up for this brutal side of him was crashing down around me.

So I sat on the floor and allowed myself to cry for the first time since arriving on this ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I've finished writing and editing this chapter for you guys! <3 All of your lovely comments really helped me get through and put this chapter out. While I might not have the most frequent updates, it still makes me so happy that you guys stick around.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, sorry for such a long wait for this chapter! It took me a long time to figure out where I wanted the story to go, and I think I've finally decided on what to do with it. I hope you all will enjoy it, I know I'm excited to be getting back to this story <3

After seeing Thanos yesterday, I’d been on autopilot for the whole day. When I ate breakfast with Elsy, Tuella, and Aphua, I listened to Elsy clamour away about whatever was on her mind while nodding politely and eating my food, not really taking anything in. Tuella seemed to notice my distant attitude and offered me a small smile, but ultimately left me be. 

I told them goodbye, and for the first time in a long while, I wandered back to my room. I flopped on top of the covers, laying there and staring up at the ceiling. I hated being in this room during the day, but now I took comfort in it. It made me feel like a prisoner, yet also kept me hidden from those that might want to talk to me. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone; I needed to think. 

Closing my eyes, I stretched out my limbs on the bed, grounding myself. I still wasn’t certain how I truly felt about Thanos. It was a confusing mess; one minute I felt hot and bothered, and another minute I felt scared and hopeless. I crave his touch along my cheek, but his stare yesterday reminded me just how powerful Thanos was. He could murder me without a second thought. What if I didn't give him what he wanted? What was stopping him from going back on his word that he wouldn't hurt me? 

No matter how I put it in my mind, I kept returning to that conclusion. That no matter what kindness he gave me, he still had so much more authority and influence under the surface. The fact that many of his women refuse to leave their rooms for fear of his might was proof enough of that. 

And yet… why did he still fascinate me? As afraid as I was, I was morbidly curious about him. He was intelligent, and a part of me wanted to pick his brain, try to figure out why he is the way that he is. Another part was interested in knowing how sex with him felt like. I wasn’t a virgin, I knew a few things. But how did he compensate for smaller partners? It was probably much more than simply a tight fit, and I almost wished Elsy had gone into more detail about his… attentiveness. That way I wouldn’t be sitting here spending my time thinking about it and further digging myself deeper into the hole of my embarrassing carnal desire for him. 

I rubbed my palms against my eyes, trying to focus on something else. My thoughts ran back to the Edgar Allan Poe book in my bag. I was so flustered yesterday that I hadn’t bothered opening it back up. How could I focus on such grim prose when all I could think about were Thanos’ eyes? His cool, grey eyes. 

Sighing, I sat up in bed and began to pace around the room. I really wasn’t sure what I was doing, mostly just trying to keep my mind occupied. Wandering over to the window, I stared outside. The vast expanse of the universe always interested me as a child, but I’d never imagined actually being out in the thick of it and certainly not being captured by the Mad Titan that wanted to cull it. With my forehead pressed against the cool glass, I let my eyes glaze over for a moment as I took it all in.

A knock at my door yanked me out of my daydream, and I shook my head to pull myself together. I inhaled deeply, fully expecting a guard to be standing outside and requesting for me to see Thanos in his room. But when I opened the door, it was a much smaller and more petite figure. 

In the doorway, Aphua stared at me expectantly through her sapphire blue hair. Her shawl today was a dark turquoise, hiding her body underneath. I often wondered if she was naturally cold-natured or if she just preferred these clothes. 

After a brief moment of awkward silence, I realized I should probably say something. “Oh, Aphua, how are you doing? What’s up?” I asked.

Before answering, her hands emerged from her shawl, holding a small parcel in her hands. She held it out, pushing it towards me and into my hands. Confused, I peeled the fabric back, revealing a half sandwich and a few slices of ripe Yaro root. 

My brow furrowed, and I looked up at Aphua. Before I could ask what this was for, she said, “You missed lunch. I didn’t want you to go hungry.”

I blinked. It barely felt like any time had passed since I came to my room. Had I really missed lunch? Aphua’s silver-eyed gaze didn’t seem to me like she was lying, so I figured I really must have spent all that time spacing out and doing nothing. 

“Thank you,” I told her, giving her a grateful smile. Aphua’s head tilted down to look at the floor, but I could have sworn I saw a small smile on her lips as well. She left without another word, and I watched as she shuffled back down the hall and out of sight. 

Closing the door behind me, I took a bite of the sandwich. Nothing like an Earth sandwich since it was Gordgan meat instead of ham and cheese or egg salad, but close enough. What I wouldn’t give for a bag of Doritos or a juicy, greasy McDonald’s burger or even a nice bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup from my mother. That last thought made me sad, so I ate my sandwich and turned my attention to my bag. 

Setting the rest of the food on my bed with the sandwich still clenched between my teeth, I pulled out one of my journals. I plucked the photo of my family out of the pages and propped it up on my sheets so I could look at it. Mulling over the memories in my journal, I took another pensive bite. It helped to reread the images of the past even as much as writing them down did. They were more real that way, more at the forefront of my mind. Trying to imagine what my father would say to me in this situation. After a moment of turning that thought over in my mind, I realized that he probably wouldn’t have a good answer for how to deal with simultaneously hating and lusting after a giant purple behemoth that would put Andre the Giant to shame. Mom probably wouldn’t be much better, and I smirked at imagining her trying to come up with solutions like she always did.  _ No problem is too big _ , she’d always tell me,  _ it can be broken down into smaller pieces and dealt with that way _ . 

Perhaps it was an issue of breaking things down into smaller components. I bit into a ripened Yaro root slice. Thanos was one big issue that could be dealt with in smaller ways. Keeping on his good side was one way. Would it be easier to deal with him if I obeyed him, gave him what he wanted? Right now I was still untrustworthy, and it seemed he had an eye on my every move. 

With a huff, I fell back against the bed and threw an arm over my eyes. I didn’t want to consider that was my only possibility of getting out of here. But what else was there? If I put my head down and did what I was told, he would eventually ignore me for long enough time for me to plan an escape. Except that wasn’t me.

I let myself drift for a while, letting my mind take me to other places. Every fluttering of my eyes opening and then closing again felt like minutes instead of hours. A serene calmness swept over my limbs, and I laid there, floating out in an empty space. 

I wasn’t sure what had woken me out of my stupor. Out of nowhere, sudden inspiration flit across my mind and I shot up in bed. I stared into space, suddenly aware of what needed to be done. I couldn’t sit here like this, trying to decide what I should or shouldn’t do. I needed to act. I had to find out once and for all where the escape pods were kept. That would be the first step in a series of many steps I would have to take before I could get out of here. If I didn’t do this now, I would forever continue to make excuses as to why I couldn’t.

Quickly slipping on my boots and throwing my jacket on and my bag over my shoulder, I crept to the door and poked my head out into the hallway. Not a soul was roaming outside, so I slipped through and shut the door behind me quietly. Trying to compose myself, I took a few deep breaths before making my way toward where I knew the restricted area was. It was the only place on my map that I hadn’t plotted out so that had to be where all of the important planet destruction activities went on.

I knew there was a chance I would be caught almost instantly, but I was going to take the risk. It was better than what Thanos could do to me if I stayed. Seeing his simmering rage was something I never wanted to experience again. Even if he didn’t, just knowing the possibility that he could easily hurt me was something I didn’t want to chance. Immediate death is better than a lifetime of mistreatment.

After a few more winding passageways, I was here. The cut off point. No one was around this particular hallway, but I knew that what lies beyond would be crawling with Chitauri and other assortments of alien guards. I had to be stealthy, which I had become accustomed to in my many years of planetary travel. But while that was easy to do when those environments were rich with foliage to blend into and other nooks and crannies, that was rather hard to do on a massive ship with long, smooth hallways with no places to hide. I just had to pray that I wouldn’t get caught before I could sneak into one of the control rooms. 

As I slowly proceeded, I made mental notes of which passages I was taking so I could log them in for later. If there was a later. At this point it was do or die, and I had to keep my wits about me now. 

Soft talking came from somewhere behind me, and my body began to tense up. It would be a matter of time before they turned the corner and found me. Frantically, I pushed the entry buttons on the doors that lined the walls, but all were locked and wouldn’t budge. Fuck! I had barely accomplished anything!

I didn’t want it to end like this. Against my better judgement, I scurried a bit quicker down the hallway, continuously looking over my shoulder for the source of the voices. I kept slamming the buttons for each door I walked past, but nothing happened. My heartbeat was deafening in my ears, and I tried my best to focus, but to no avail. 

Hoping to hide behind the corner of the next hallway, I quickly turned without checking to see if the coast was clear. That’s when I slammed against an armored chest, gasping and trying to scramble backwards. But it was too late, and a hand gripped my wrist tightly, causing me to wince. 

Two Chitauri guards stood before me, leering down at my form. I knew that the Chitauri were a merciless species, eager for any opportunity to torture, maim, and slaughter anyone that stood in their way. Trembling, I watched in horror as the one that held me spoke in chitters, “Where do you think you’re going, whore?”

“I’m not a whore!” I sputtered, trying desperately to regain control of myself for long enough to get out of this mess. “I just turned down the wrong hallway was all! You expect me to figure out where I’m going when the hallways are a fucking labyrinth!?”

The other Chitauri guard scoffed. “You shouldn’t be getting lost in the first place. Your only job is to spread your-”

“Don’t you fucking say it you piece of shit!” I grunted as I tried pulling away - failing again - and driving the heel of my foot against his ankle. His boots were armored though, so the effort was futile. 

He began to say something more, but another voice interrupted, “You’ve become quite predictable, haven’t you?”

The three of us turned our attention towards Maw, who slowly approached from an entryway behind the guards. My eyes widened as I gazed inside, realizing just how close I was to some sort of control room. Thanos was nowhere to be found, but it was obvious from the aliens at their respective stations and the technology lining the walls that this was one of the many control rooms that would be required to power such a massive vessel. I would have been more in awe of the set up if I wasn’t in this predicament. 

“We found one of the Lord’s whores wandering around,” the guard that held me spoke up, shaking my wrist as I struggled to regain my balance. 

“I can clearly see that,” Maw coldly snapped as he narrowed his eyes at the two guards. “Let her go. You’ve already tossed her around enough and if you do any more she will receive bruises. I don’t think I have to remind either of you what happened to the last guard that left bruises on his property?”

Without hesitation, the guard released me from his tight hold, but I was about to stumble backwards from tugging away too hard. I braced myself for an impact against the ground, but instead I felt a force hold my back steady and straighten me up, no doubt Maw’s doing. 

“But we must return her to-”

“I’ll take care of it. I wouldn’t trust the two of you to transport her safely considering how you manhandle someone who could hardly be perceived as a thinking organism, let alone a threat.” The two guards exchanged chastised glances before following their orders and walking back to the control room, leaving me alone with Maw. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” I said, attempting casualness with a lopsided smile, trying to weasel my way out of more reprimands. I should have known better.

Unamused, Maw laced his fingers in front of himself, looking down at me. “My patience with you wears thin, Terran.” His hands then unclasped, one sliding down my back as he urged me to move, pushing me back down the hallway from where I’d come from. The action and his touch sickened me, and I shrugged his hand away as soon as he allowed me to. 

“For a woman who is constantly spouting off that she can take care of herself,” Maw began, using his power to make my legs stop and therefore focus my attention entirely on him. His fingers brushed against my cheek, tilting my chin up to meet his gaze. “You play the damsel in distress rather well.”

“Do not,” I spat at him.

“Really?” His voice drawled in a hum. “Because it seems that through our each and every encounter, you’re constantly needing help. And we provide it to you because we understand how difficult it must be to adjust here.” Maw leaned closer, his head dipping down towards mine. I flinched instinctively, but with his hand gently gripping my chin - careful not to leave bruises - I couldn’t pull away very far. Trying to throw off his magic was just as futile. As if I were an amoeba under a microscope, he tilted his head to the side as he stared down at me dispassionately. “But there will come a time, Terran, when our kindness will dry up. Your little games will cease to be amusing, and Lord Thanos will punish you accordingly. As he should have done far sooner.”

Maw suddenly let me free from his grasp, and I stumbled back a few steps before regaining my footing. With a snide smile crawling up his lips, he glanced down at me and continued, “I certainly think he will. Before this you were just a nuisance, but now you were trying to escape. Perhaps I should tell you of what Thanos does to those who try to run?”

My heart thudded harshly in my chest as I tensed up. I had fucked up bad this time. I could only hope Thanos’ punishment was swift, so I might be able to quickly recover and come up with a better plan than the idiotic one I had just tried to enact. What was I thinking, running around blind? In the moment it seemed rational, but with Maw and his smug grin staring me down, I knew this was the dumbest decision I could have made. 

After regarding my expression for a moment more, he turned away and my legs were suddenly back in my power. I shifted slightly as Maw gestured with his finger to follow him. “Come along now. The longer you stand there silently dreading your Lord’s punishment, the longer it will take to atone for your pitiful attempts at fleeing.”

I trailed behind him, staring daggers into his hands, held behind his back. “At least I tried.” 

Maw scoffed. “If you call strutting straight into a guard infested location ‘trying’ then I suppose you did accomplish that which was otherwise a failure.” Out of the corner of his eye, he looked over his shoulder at me. “Really, do you Terrans truly believe that struggling in a hopeless situation is commendable? Fate is inevitable, Terran, you will do well to learn that fairly quickly, lest you fall into more trouble than you are worth.”

I held my tongue. There was no point in answering him. I had lost. I had to accept that fact and move forward. Otherwise Maw would be happy to stand there and berate me even further. I suppose in a way I had to take his advice. There was nothing left for me to do except to keep my head down, get my punishment from Thanos, and move on from there.

When we arrived at Thanos’ room, Maw almost walked right in without knocking, so giddy with the idea of tattling on me that he almost forgot his own strict manners. He ushered me forth beside him, and I saw Thanos turn in his chair to glance at the two of us. He sat up in a more formal position as we stopped before him at a respectful distance, his stern glance bearing its weight down on me. 

“My Lord,” Maw began, drawing Thanos’ gaze to his subordinate. “I regret to inform you that I found your newest acquisition attempting to leave our ship.”

I tried to choke back a snort. Regret, my ass. Overjoyed, more likely.

Thanos’ steely eyes returned to me. He assessed me for a moment, before finally speaking. “Well?” He asked expectantly, “Does Maw speak the truth?”

I forced myself to lock my gaze with his in challenge. “Yes,  _ Master _ , he is correct.” I spat the word at him, trying to make my displeasure clear. 

Thanos inhaled deeply for a moment. Without looking away from me, he ordered in a firm tone, “Thank you, Maw. You may be excused. My human pet and I are to have a short discussion alone.”

Even though I was watching Thanos carefully, I could almost sense the smile that curled along Maw’s face as he turned and swiftly exited the room. As the door clicked shut behind me with a foreboding finality, I felt the dread begin to settle in my gut.

I was alone with the Mad Titan, and I had no idea what he would do with me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that cliffhanger, but it was already passing 3k words and I wanted the next chapter to focus entirely on the protagonist and Thanos, so there will be plenty of drama going on next chapter ;) If you'd like to keep up with me, my tumblr is @lucifers-trash-stash <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out you guys! I just saw Endgame and the Thanos inspiration is coursing through my veins again, and I have tons of ideas for where I want to take this story now. So I hope you enjoy this chapter because I hope to be writing more soon <3

The click of the door resigned me to my fate. I was left alone with the Mad Titan, and he could have me do whatever he desired, and I would have to obey him. If I didn’t want to die, of course. However, depending on the method of punishment, I think I would prefer dying.

I reminded myself of that look in his eyes as he had glared down at me the other day, darkened with murderous intent and eager to torture his captive. That was surely the Thanos I would encounter soon. Maybe I would see that captive again, only this time bloodied and bruised beside him, wherever he might be. I could only imagine the pain that Thanos could inflict on me now.

“I apologize for my behavior towards you yesterday.”

Blinking in shock, I stared up into Thanos’ eyes. My mouth hung open slightly, trying to form words out of the scattered thoughts in my brain. Before I could speak, Thanos continued, “I frightened you before. That is not the kind of look I give my women, nor the turmoil I would allow them to feel. It’s why you tried to escape, isn’t it? You feared I would lash out at you at any moment and harm you if I so willed it.”

After a brief moment, I gave him a defiant look. “Just because you apologize doesn’t mean it makes it right or that I’ll forgive you.”

“I am aware. I know by now you aren’t easily swayed by simple words.” Thanos leaned forward in his chair, his hands loosely clasped between his parted legs. “However, it is that same reluctance that seems to get you into trouble. You don’t know how to make concessions with others when you aren’t in a position to question those that hold all the cards.”

My feet carried me right up to him, watching as his brows raised in slight surprise at my movement. I now stood right before him, fists balled at my sides. In a low voice, I hissed at him through grit teeth, “You’re talking about compromising with my fucking captors? The people that forced me here, what you’re doing right now? You have the fucking _gall_ to expect me to take that shit lying down? Who do you think you are?”  

“I have given up everything to be where I am today, I have earned my position.” Thanos leaned forward slightly, our faces inches from each other. “You are a Terran, far away from home, struggling to even survive. How long did you expect to survive if not for my kindness?”

I snorted. “Kindness? Fuck you.”

“What else would you call what you have here?” He unclasped his hands and gave an open handed gesture to the room around us. “Do you know what would happen on another ship? You would be shackled up in a cold room with other women, either in minimal clothing or none at all. You would be fed and watered enough just to keep you alive. And the only reprieve you would have from that is when you would be passed around to the depraved scum that would mistreat you however they wished.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Oh, so just because you’re above sexually abusing your slaves and instead giving them five course meals means I should applaud you? Give you a fucking trophy? Well congrats, Master, you win the award of treating your slaves nice while still depriving them of their basic fucking rights as living beings.” I couldn’t help but add a slow clap at the end for dramatic effect.

Instead of a cold stare from my outburst, Thanos simply smiled, causing my bravado to waver. “You simply don’t get it, do you?”

“What isn’t there to get? You’re a fucking space dictator that wants brownie points for not abusing his prisoners.”

It was Thanos’ turn to laugh. “You don’t get that you are only proving my punishment for you more fitting than I originally thought.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Is that supposed to scare me?”

“Not scare. Teach. Have you appreciate what you are given here. Granted, I imagine it will prove to be a great headache for me in the beginning, but I’m sure you will grow accustomed to it over time.”

“Oh no, you’re making such sacrifices for yourself to punish me. What a selfless leader. I don’t know what we would ever do-”

With an almost gleeful glint in his eye, he interrupted me. “In order for you to appreciate what I’ve done here for you, I think what must happen is for your living arrangements to change. And to ensure that you won’t be so eager to get into trouble, you’ll need a chaperone. I will provide both of these things for you.”

I felt my throat close up, my breath stalling in my throat. My heartbeat was pounding in my head so loudly I couldn’t hear myself think. The only word that escaped my lips was a soft, “No.”

“As of this moment,” Thanos continued, ignoring me. “You will live in my room under my supervision. You will not be able to leave this room unless it is with myself or with one of the Black Order-”

“NO!” I screamed at him, stepping away rapidly. “NO NO NO! You can’t fucking do this to me!” I shrieked, stumbling against furniture that blocked my escape. “I won’t fucking let you! I would rather you fucking kill me!”

Thanos sighed. “Rather dramatic, aren’t we?”

“Shut the fuck up!” In a moment of desperation, I turned and ran towards the door. Thanos made no move to get up as I yanked the door so hard it almost smacked me in the face. I spilled out into the hallway, stumbling over myself and frantic for escape.

I didn’t make it far. Halfway down the hall I careened into an unexpectant Corvus Glaive, who cursed loudly as I thrashed against him. Proxima pulled me away just long enough to restrain my hands, trying to drag me back to where Thanos waited at the entrance of his room. I kicked out and screamed, making myself hoarse in the process. Corvus stood next to his wife, helping escort me back down the hall with his hand coiled tightly around my upper arm.

“Well, I hadn’t expected that particular reaction,” Thanos mused as we grew near. “Though I should have known better than to not have Maw secure the door behind him.”

“What did you even say?” Proxima asked as I was passed back to Thanos, his hand wrapping around my entire bicep, securing me in place as I tried to hang limp and kick his legs while I growled incoherently.

“She isn’t allowed to leave my room unless I or one of the Black Order is escorting her. If you see her with anyone else you are to bring her back to me, though I’m certain there won’t be any more issues like this.” He spoke as if I wasn’t there.

I’m certain I blacked out for a moment in my screaming fit because I couldn’t remember anything until I was placed on his sofa, his massive hands holding me in place. I felt light headed. I could barely speak. Everything just felt so numb.

“I’ll kill myself,” I sputtered out pitifully, not able to control the tears that flowed freely now.

“If you truly wished to kill yourself, you wouldn’t have told me,” Thanos spoke calmly, a strange contrast from his firm grip. “Please rest, you’ve overworked yourself.”

All I could remember of the rest of that day was bawling my eyes out as Thanos knelt before me, keeping a watchful eye over me until I finally passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

It was a struggle to open my eyes when they felt like they were fused shut. My lips were chapped horribly, and I felt like I had been hit by a bus. My entire body felt sore and limp, but I was warm. There was a large duvet draped over me, and I instinctively buried myself further below it, as if doing so would protect me from my loathsome surroundings.

There was a shuffling noise beside me, and to my surprise, Aphua stood up from the end of the couch and reached for the teapot that sat upon the side table. She poured some into a teacup and held it out to me. Not wanting to make her upset, my hands popped up from underneath the covers and took the cup.

She waited patiently for me to take a sip. When I did, I realized just how sore my throat had become. The liquid felt harsh at first as it went down, but with another sip I felt the warmth seep through me. It was a delicious blend of spices that I wasn’t familiar with, but nonetheless tasted good.

“It’s Pumila tea, native to my homeworld,” Aphua said. “It works miracles on a sore throat.”

“Thanks,” I rasped. “Do you grow it?”

Aphua frowned slightly. “Now we do. Lord Thanos used to bring some back to me when he would visit. We don’t do that anymore.”

“Why not?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. That was then. We do things differently now.”

I took another sip, feeling better by the moment. I was slightly annoyed to not hear the answer. I’ve always been a snoop at heart and I knew there was more to it than she was letting on, but I let it go for the moment.

“I had your punishment once.”

My eyes widened as I looked back up at her. “Really? What did you do?”

She shook her head again. “Nothing of importance.” Her lips were pursed, as if she wanted to tell me but couldn’t bring herself to. Aphua turned to look into my eyes. “Lord Thanos is not as bad as he seems. I promise. He only wants the best for you.”

I scoffed. “No he doesn’t, he gets a power trip off of controlling all these women. How do you not see that?”

“He cares very deeply,” Aphua’s voice raised. It shocked me. “If he didn’t care for us he would have been rid of us sooner. He wouldn’t care if we died or not.”

As I was about to try to calm her down, the door opened and Thanos stepped through. He looked over us with a soft smile. I rolled my eyes and set my cup on the ground and made my way back to burrowing under the duvet. I didn’t want to look at him or his dumb face for as long as I lived. Which wouldn’t be much longer if I had to endure this fake sappy sweet garbage any longer.

“My darling Aphua,” Thanos said as he approached the couch, leaning over Aphua. I watched in disgusted horror as the two met in a surprisingly chaste kiss. I grumbled loudly and tucked my head fully under the blanket. I wanted to barf. Thanos let out a short sigh as he asked, “Has she been this miserable for long?”

“She only just woke up,” Aphua responded shortly.

“Amazing how in such a short amount of time she could leave my princess in such a foul mood,” Thanos mumbled softly to her. I could only just imagine that he was inches away from her lips as he whispered this fucking nasty lovey-dovey crap to her.

“Y’all are gross. Fuck off somewhere else with that shit,” I growled from under my sanctuary.

“I asked Aphua here to keep you company,” his stern tone was muffled from under the covers. “However, if you are truly this ungrateful, I see no problem with allowing her to leave so she won’t have to be subjected to your sour attitude.”

I pondered for a moment. If she left, that meant I would be alone with Thanos. But if she stayed I would have to endure silly pet names and tongue fucking. What great options.

“Don’t care,” I grumbled.

I yelped as the duvet was swiftly yanked down, leaving my hair flying in twenty different directions. “Behave yourself.” Thanos now knelt before me, chastising me like a parent would.

“No,” I said firmly.

He glared at me. “She is not the one who deserves your tantrum. Direct your ire at me all you want, but do not make the lives of the women I spend my time with miserable because of your vendetta against me.”

There was a distinct pang of guilt that hit me. I didn’t want to admit it but he was right. Aphua was just being nice to me. She really didn’t have to. She wasn’t the one holding me captive here.

I glanced over to Aphua, who sat on the couch with her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry, Aphua,” I said softly.

She nodded with a small smile. This satisfied Thanos, and he finally got out of my face and moved to sit in his own chair. His posture was more relaxed, his legs stretched out so far that his leg brushed up against hers. With a light flush in her cheeks, her expression softened and she shifted her leg just enough so it rested closer to his. I looked away with a disgusted look. This pseudo courting shit was obnoxious.

The next few hours were surreal. My brow furrowed as I watched Thanos have normal conversation with Aphua over tea and whatever dessert she had brought with her. They discussed mundane things, like how their days went and him asking what she’d been up to recently. Aphua had refilled my tea and handed me a plate of dessert, all while burrowed under my blankets and stared quizzically at the scene before me. It was just too odd watching a giant space dictator having tea and desserts. Even more odd was that Aphua was the most talkative I had ever seen her. Her face lit up when she spoke, her pale blue skin showing shades of darker blush along her cheeks.

After a while though, Thanos eventually escorted her to the door. The way things were going I was surprised he didn’t have her stay the night just to torture me. As he leaned down towards her, she stood on tiptoes to meet him, her hands finding his shoulders as the two shared a kiss. It was hardly like the kiss from earlier though. While that one was quick, there was a slow burning beneath as the kiss began to deepen. I couldn’t find myself looking away though, and I was certain I was blushing myself at this point. As they finally parted, I shoved myself back under the covers again, not wanting Thanos to see me. I didn’t want him to tease me like he did in the training room.

I heard the door close, and Thanos moved back across the room. I expected him to bother me again, but instead I heard him move to the other side of the room. There were creaking sounds as what sounded like a chair was being moved around. He let out a short sigh accompanied by sounds of paper being shuffled around.

Like a gopher peeking out of its burrow, I slowly poked my head over the back of the couch. Thanos was hunched over at his desk, flipping through pages of material in front of him. He really was old school, not even using the technology set up at his desk.

I thought I hadn’t made much noise, but Thanos glanced absently over his shoulder at me. “If you wish to sleep, I can turn down the lights.”

“I’ve slept enough.” I turned away from him.

“Then come here. We must talk.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back at him. “We ‘must,’ huh? Serious stuff we couldn’t talk about in front of your girlfriend?”

“Would you really wish for others to know of our business?” Thanos now turned his chair to face me, his position casual and relaxed.

I scoffed and threw the duvet on the floor. “So considerate of you.”

Thanos huffed. “And there’s the sarcasm we have all grown to love.”

I actually cracked a smile as I wandered over. “Oh, so you can make jokes too? I just thought you had a gigantic stick up your ass this entire time.”

Thanos didn’t bother answering back, simply retrieving an item from his desk and turning to me. I felt my blood run cold. My bag in his hand.

“As you remember,” Thanos spoke, gesturing with the bag in his outstretched hand, urging me to take it. As I snatched it out of his hand, he continued, “The last time we were in this position, I simply gave you your bag back and respected your privacy.”

“So now you’re telling me you looked through it?” I spat.

“No. I still haven’t done that. However,” Thanos nodded towards the bag. “Now you’ll show me yourself.”

I clutched the strap tightly in my fist. “And why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, then I will find it harder to lift your punishment. Trust is a two way street, and I trusted you enough to not try to run off. Now, here we are.”

I scoffed. “Trust? I don’t trust you one bit.”

“You have no other choice. You live here with me now.” He leaned forward. “There has to be a mutual trust between us, even if it is only enough to simply sleep in the same room as one another. I don’t trust that you don’t have something in your bag that could cause more strain between us.”

“You’re fucking kidding me.” This was not good. This was _very_ not good. It wasn’t just that I had the PDA in my bag and he would see all my maps. It was my personal items, my memories. My innermost thoughts. For him to have access to those things would mean that I would have nothing left besides my name. He would own me completely. More than he already does.

“I’m not.” He sat back, giving me space to breathe. “Go ahead. The sooner you do this, the sooner the slate can be cleaned and we can attempt to have a new beginning.”

Trust. I knew I needed him to trust me if I ever wanted another shot at escape. I bit the inside of my cheek roughly, leaving a painful indentation. I knew I had to do this if I had any hope left. I just had to sacrifice my privacy. That _totally_ wasn’t hard to do at all.

I took a deep breath and opened my bag, reaching inside. I took out the Poe book first, laying it on the desk beside us. I struggled with myself as my hand gripped the journals that contained all of my thoughts and memories. My throat felt tight as I brought them out one by one onto the desk.

He reached out towards them, and I heard an unfamiliar voice squeak out of me, “Please don’t read them.”

Thanos held them in his hands, his eyebrow cocked. “Are they personal journals?” I nodded, feeling embarrassed at my desperate plea. “Then I won’t read them. However.” He lifted up the thicker journal. “This one has something inside, I can tell from the way the pages line up. I want to see it.”

My head tilted down as he flipped through it, finding the family photo there. I couldn’t bear to look him in the eye as he glanced over it. Much to my relief, however, he simply closed the journal back up without a word and placed it back with the others.

“You may continue.”

The moment of truth. My fingers curled around the PDA, knowing fully well that everything I had gotten until now would be taken away. The maps were only partially committed to memory, but I still had trouble getting around the ship because every hallway looked the same. But I had to. I needed him to trust me. This was the only way to get it.

I set it down on the desk in front of him, mustering the best indignant look I could. His eyebrows raised in genuine surprise. “Well,” he said, picking the device up. “I can’t say I expected something like this to be on your person.”

I didn’t answer. He continued to mull over the device, his fingers comically large holding it. After a few button mashes, he found my maps. His eyes widened as he scrolled through what I had already catalogued. “How did you get such an ancient device to do this?”

“Ancient?” I snorted. “It’s more high tech than what we have on Earth.”

Thanos considered my comment for a moment, obviously impressed by what I’d done. Really all I did was fiddle with the damn thing when I had down time, which was often for someone living on selling scrap metal to whatever yahoo would pay me for it that day. And you don’t tend to sleep too much when you’re on the streets so that opens up a lot of free time.

He watched my face for a moment, no doubt annoyed by my defiance. As his fingers began to close on the device, he stared at me, his grey eyes piercing into mine. Tighter and tighter his grip became, my throat drying with it. Almost as if it were my neck between his fingers.

A muffled crack was heard, and yet he still continued to apply pressure. Even though my stomach fluttered anxiously, I held his gaze. He wasn’t going to break me like he did my device. I wouldn’t let him.

Slowly, his hand opened, revealing the crushed electronics inside. He tilted his hand, the metal hardware clinking against the floor as it spilled out. “Now,” Thanos said, breaking the silence. “It is no more.”

“If you think breaking it will make me stop, then you’re wrong,” I hissed at him.

“No, I would be naive to believe it would make you stop. Which is why you will stay with me until your trust is earned again.” His head tilted towards me. “Tell me you understand.”

I glowered at him as I began scooping up my belongings, not waiting for him to tell me I could have them back. “Oh, I understand Master,” I spat. “I understand that you’ll have to babysit me for the rest of my life. Hope you enjoy it because I’m not going to make life easier for you.”

I turned to stomp off towards the couch, throwing my belongings onto the coffee table and flung the duvet back over myself. My heart lurched as his chair skid backwards on the floor, his footsteps slowly approaching me. I tried my best to hide my flinch as one of his hands rested on my shoulder, practically engulfing it. His thumb stroked along the side of my neck, making me recognize just how easily he could kill me in this moment.

“I once knew of a girl who didn’t take so kindly to me either when she first arrived.” He began, his voice slow as he extracted his memories. “She fought and screamed and cursed me every single day for years. And then one day, what I was telling her began to make sense. She realized what I was doing was what was best for her. It all clicked.”

He leaned forward so his mouth was close to my ear, his thumb continuing to stroke along my neck. “And now, she is the most ferocious woman in the galaxy. Because she understood what needed to be done. That I wasn't out to ruin her life, but to give her a better one. She would have died out there on her home planet if not for me.” His voice then dropped to a low whisper. “So I have the patience necessary for you, little human. You too will come around to realize that I know what is best for you.”

And like that, his hand left my shoulder and his looming figure simply left, instead crossing the room towards the door. My mouth was slightly agape, trying to process his thinly veiled threat. As he approached the door, he gave me one fleeting glance over his shoulder. It was a look of confidence. Confident that he knew what he was doing was fair and just.

And then he left. The door clicked. Locked inside Thanos’ chambers with no one other than my thoughts to keep me company.


End file.
